Transcending The Shadows
by ChocolateCarnival
Summary: 'The one who I wanted to protect; was you.' Tensa Zangetsu always wanted to protect his Master and he vowed so in a sworn promise that he will keep at all costs. Even if it means protecting Ichigo from the Quincy soul that he originally stems from. Only, Ichigo seems to to rely much more on his Hollow powers after reawakening his powers again, something to use to his advantage.Yaoi
1. Prologue: Deceit And Mixed Innocence

Anyways, because I've been so terrible in my updates this week, I'm gifting you with the first part of this story. It is fairly dark because it centres around Tensa Zangetsu binding Ichigo's soul to his so that Ichigo will protected against Juhabach when the 'older' part of the Quincy's soul awakens. Also, this story is unusual and controversial.

I'm exploring a different outlook on Zangetsu x Ichigo's relationship that is considered a bit darker than what people normally think of now that the truth in the Manga has been revealed. So this story contains **spoilers from Chapter 529 and onwards** and yes that will **eventually include how Juhabach's power works from Chapter 565**. Also know; this story is VERY different because Tensa Zangetsu is considered the dominant in the relationship and Ichigo the submissive.

So this multi-chapter fic will contain: **M/M lemons**, a **set Tensa Zangetsu x Kurosaki Ichigo pairing** (in that order), a play on the **Alpha & Beta Dynamics**, a **submissive Ichigo**, **dominant Tensa Zangetsu**, **slight manipulation **and **rough sex. P****ossible M-preg** much later in the story.

That's not all, this story will eventually include the pairing **Tensa Zangetsu x Kurosaki Ichigo x Juhabach**. But that will only be posted at a much later date when I have time for it. Chapter 2 of part 1, the lemon, will be posted in the next few days.

For now though, I'm going to stop there before I give everything away. If any of the warnings have put you off, please do not read this. I'm not forcing you to read it.

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><p><span><strong>Prologue: Deceit And Mixed Innocence<strong>

_Into your darkened obscurity; where only the shadows reign the night and your eternal light is my only guide... take my hand and shield me just as I swear to protect you eternally. Side by side, hand in hand; never again leave the expanse within my heart that was forged just for you. I am yours as you are mine, all I ask is that you never betray me and protect the essence of my soul which I gift you upon this shadow filled night. Let neither the sun nor the moon separate what has been created between us. Immerse me in your reassurance that I'll never have to face the night alone again and I shall forever promise that my soul belongs only in your grasp._

_Only__ yours, as you are __eternally__ mine._

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><p><em>'<em>_**Abandon**__ your fear. __**Look**__ forward. Move forward and __**never**__ stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll __**die**__ if you hesitate.' Hauntingly familiar words echoed into the distance of a once abandoned Inner World; a lilting tone drifting from pale lips as pale blue eyes blinked lazily up at the bright sunlight that was saturating the depths of a vast world filled with endless sideways skyscrapers, blue skies and drifting white clouds. The slim outline of a teen figure; engulfed in the shadows of the forced sleep that had bound him up in pitch black chains since his Master had initiated __**that**__ technique, falling away from his wrists and torso as wavy brown locks, slightly shorter and messier than his older counterpart, Zangetsu; brushed youthful cheeks in a teasing caress. Stoic features still refused to show any inkling of emotion besides a small smirk, though. The essence of __**his**__ being and __**what**__ he was flowing in bright blue reishi from elegant fingertips as the brown haired Zanpactō glanced over the haunting white form that was lying unaware on the building beside him. _

_His companion, in his purest sense a Hollow, was still bound up and captive to the same restrictive black chains that had held him not too long ago. It hadn't been until an overwhelming flood of power had shattered his bindings and forced Tensa Zangetsu into full waking consciousness, which he had been able to understand what had happened. His beloved Master had finally regained that which he had sacrificed; regained what was __**rightfully**__ his and nothing could have made the teen spirit more content than he was at that moment. As it was now though, the hollow counterpart that bore the same countenance as Ichigo, flickered into specks of white before being absorbed into __**his**__ soul when their shared Master's reawakened powers unconsciously suppressed the true source of his Zanpactō and handed over full awareness to the yet to be acknowledged inheritance running through the orange haired teen's veins from his mother's influence. _

_Perfect, the fragment of __**that**__ man's soul thought. Like this he could continue to protect the one who he had been forced to give up once, properly bind their souls this time so that Ichigo would be shielded from the coming chaos that was sure to descend upon the world not too long from now. Because surely the Quincy Herrscher (1*) would be awakening soon; the True Soul where __**his**__ existence stemmed from when he had been born into Ichigo all those years ago, wasn't one that would sleep on for eternity. __**He**__ had always been a ruthless man; quick to destroy those close to him in order to regain more power. But if Tensa Zangetsu could successfully ensure Ichigo's subservience and bind their souls so that the orangette was forced to rely more on Juhabach's, no Tensa's __**own**__ power than his hollow's, he could make sure that Ichigo would survive what was to come whilst still being able to become stronger in his existence as time passed on. _

_Even when it meant Ichigo would have to be swapping allegiances and loyalties in time. _

_'Sleep on peacefully for now, __**Zangetsu; **__until your King recognizes your existence. I must say that I've taught you very well, Aruji (2*).' Tensa Zangetsu noted briefly, the sleeves of a new and more intricate black cloak clinging to his form as it fell towards his fingertips gently and obscured black booted feet from sight. Leading him towards the flood of powerful reiatsu that was saturating the depths of this Inner World so unrestrainedly; Tensa Zangetsu allowed his being to resonate with the call of his Master's voice as he paid blissful attention to Ichigo's sheer contentedness that was flowing warmly through his very soul. A growing smirk was curling at pale lips, the brown haired being making his way across several sideways buildings where the essence of Zangetsu's blade was the most prominent. __**They**__ had been re-forged into a new form; the core of Ichigo's power this time seeming to have shifted to include the more instinctual reliance on his Hollow than before...but it still wasn't exactly what it could be quite yet. _

_It wouldn't matter however, because even like this, Ichigo was still extremely powerful. Something that Tensa Zangetsu found immense pride in as pale blue eyes glimpsed the pitch black, newly formed daitō that was sticking up from the side of the building several feet in front of him. _

_**'Tensa Zangetsu...'**_

_'Ah, I'm here, Aruji.' Tensa Zangetsu answered reassuringly; elegant fingertips curling around the pitch black hilt as an overwhelming flood of responding reiatsu ignited across his skin and forced a billowing cloak of shadows and black reiatsu to spread menacingly behind him. A small frown was tugging at his brows though; pale blue orbs seeing the world for what it was through his Master's eyes as he was near instantly overwhelmed by the sheer joy and rising pleasure that was spreading so deeply through his beloved Aruji's soul. The brown haired Zanpactō couldn't help but feel a rush of possessiveness spreading through him though, with every clash of sparking blades that crossed Ichigo's current enemy in a deadly dance of overpowering strength and fluid ease. That man, the one who Tensa knew had betrayed Ichigo's trust, left him wanting nothing more than to tear his soul to pieces himself but he'd leave __**that**__ pleasure to his Master destructive capabilities instead. _

_Ichigo had to show off his unshakable power somewhere..._

_A tender, affectionate smile was curling more steadily across stoic lips as time passed. A flaring reiatsu flooding more intently through the black blade in his hand as the last seventeen months spent in isolated pain, the last seventeen months where his beloved Aruji had yearned for __**his**__ presence became soothed and comforted in mere seconds. Tensa had found what he had been looking for in Ichigo's soul and now that he had him in his grasp, never again would he let him go... This time he would mark Ichigo as his. The pale blue eyed teen was rather attached to this child after all. The part of his soul that was tied to the ancient being of Quincy Origin was desperately calling out to Ichigo's eternal and pure light as his grip tightened protectively around the pitch black blade in his hand. It wouldn't matter how filthy the orangette's blood was in __**his e**__yes, there __**were**__ ways to make Ichigo pure and desirable enough for his True Soul in the coming future. _

_**'Zangetsu...'**_

_'You shall forever be protected, Ichigo. Therein I will __**never**__ betray you. I will make__** sure**__ that my purpose beside you is always fulfilled, Master.'_

**_..._**

Tensa Zangetsu; an elegant pitch black daitō that was teeming with overwhelming power and possessed the form of an entirely unique Bankai blade, was clutched protectively in black gloved fingertips as the light of the moon cast its eternal rays upon the outskirts of Karakura Town where the edge of a forest had just become a bloodied battleground of overpowering strength and unforgivable deceit. A thin black chain that was just as dark as the midnight sky; remained fairly long in comparison to its appearance since the last time that his master had wielded _him_ and it tinkled ominously against the pommel of a black Zanpactō with Kurosaki Ichigo's every careful, well executed, move. The messy orange haired Substitute Shinigami was standing tall over the fallen form of his enemy Ginjo Kugo by now, back straightened even in the wake of the sorrowed and bitter victory he had just won as depthless chocolate brown eyes observed the growing pool of blood that was tainted with a lingering touch of regret despite him successfully having protected those he loved from harm.

An evocative cloak-like kosode was spreading sensually around his lithe frame at the tugging whimsies of the wind, crisscrossing strips of black fabric drawn across a white clad chest to keep the black kosode in place as the floor length fabric trailed flowingly behind him in three distinctive sections that were coloured white on the inside. Black gloved fingertips of his free hand, resting by his side left Ichigo to cast his calm gaze upon the betrayer that had nearly succeeded in crushing his very soul where Aizen Sousuke had failed so miserably seventeen months ago. From the tip of Tensa Zangetsu's deadly blade; several drops of crimson blood fell rhythmically as the elegant sword remained steady and powerfully controlled in his wielder's grasp who's resolve became eternally unshakable. Ichigo was shivering and shaking with a long time familiarity and gentle acceptance that was spreading vastly within his soul, the orange haired Shinigami headily aware of an emotional rush that skittered powerfully across tanned skin whilst simultaneously sending the dizzying warmth of comfort across the depths of his racing heart over and over again.

It felt like he could finally take a proper breath into straining lungs; his soul no longer as unbalanced and solitary in its grief as it had been for the last seventeen months of agonizing hell. But there was no doubt that the time spent without his powers had finally come to an end several minutes ago. Even when Ichigo could still feel the lingering after affects of unsettled emotion licking irritably at the edges of his soul. Newly determined chocolate brown orbs were gazing proudly at the four pronged tsuba that was settled at the end of Zangetsu's hilt. The elegance and flowing power of his Bankai blade glinting pitch black in the light of the full moon as the orangette counted three ragged edges that now seemed to add to the blade's increasingly powerful capabilities at its tip. A small parallel section was missing from the centre of the thin blade before becoming whole halfway down again; an odd curiosity when it only seemed to add to the deadly presence that remained a constant by Ichigo's side in barely restrained reiatsu.

This was a beloved gift from Soul Society that Ichigo would never again allow to leave his side, something that he vowed to his very soul he would keep close to his heart for the rest of his life and what remained of his afterlife as well. But as the uncountable seconds seemed to pass onwards; ticking by one for one in distorted slowness, Ichigo's entire being entered a strange trace-like state where the world came to a grinding halt around him and the events that had happened over the last few hours, seared themselves painfully across the depths of his mind in a surreal feeling of pained emotions and utter,_ clawing_, relief. Leaving the orange haired seventeen-year-old to stumble away from his fallen enemy to lean his back against a nearby tree instead; dulled chocolate brown orbs fell half-mast at the shadows of spiky orange bangs that tumbled messily into his eyes as he leant forward exhaustedly in an attempt to bring his detached mind back into himself. Resting a gloved hand against his hakama clad thigh, Ichigo swung a pitch black blade in a well practised arc to flick away the clinging blood as he absently pressed Tensa Zangetsu's cleaned tip against the grass several seconds later.

The black blade was humming soothingly in his right hand, a slow winding chain coming alive to wrap comfortingly around his gloved wrist as Ichigo slowly but surely began to lose his intense awareness of the two presences that had remained behind when the harsh battle had finally concluded. Zangetsu's presence was only increasing in strength against his soul, becoming the solitary focus for Ichigo's fading attention as his vision suddenly began to blur alarmingly when he gazed up at the vast spread of the stars through a thick canopy of dark leaves and clearing rainclouds. Renji was close by, Ichigo could feel the redhead's familiar reiatsu as the Rokubantai Vice-Captain came to fulfil his duty to collect Ginjo's body and Rukia was straying supportively closer to him the more that the seconds seemed to pass. But Ichigo hardly took notice anymore, an unsettled but not entire uncomfortable sensation filling up his mind and soul as his fading consciousness began to colour black at the familiar call of the one resting within his hand that sought to drag his awareness into the depths of his Inner World.

'Ichigo?! Oi! Are you alright? ICHIGO!' Dazed chocolate brown eyes snapped back into reality for several seconds as they collided briefly with violet coloured orbs when the Shinigami that had first awakened his powers came to stand before him in clear concern. A light of subtle reprimand seemed to have entered her eyes, probably getting herself ready to scold him for something or another again but Ichigo merely forced a lingering smile to cross his lips as he allowed his back to slide against the harsh bark of the tree when his legs seemed to have lost the will to support his body. Dragging an elegant pitch black daitō across his lap to ground himself more fully, Ichigo expertly rested gloved fingertips against the pitch black surface expectantly. 'Sorry, Rukia. But can you leave me alone for a bit?' Ichigo asked softly; leaning his head back against the rough surface as he allowed the sensation of the humming blade in his lap to creep up his arms and forced a flood of his own responding reiatsu to saturate the blade deeply.

The moment that Ichigo calmed his wavering soul to answer the call that was ringing out so deeply within him, the orangette could feel a subtle shift of anxiety twisting the pit of his stomach in rising anticipation.

'I think I need some time to get used to my powers again and Tensa Zangetsu is calling me to him, I don't think that I can ignore him for much longer.' When those words left petal pink lips, Ichigo could only watch as his vision faded to black and the last image of Rukia parting her lips to call out to him, burned itself into the backs of his eyelids as everything became alarmingly still and dark in his mind. His entire consciousness was abruptly tugged backwards into a startling oblivion seconds later, surrounding the orange haired teen in a brush of heady tranquillity that suspended him in a warm darkness for several long moments of reprieve before his falling form began a rapid descent through a well known plane into the very core of his soul. Reality instantly began to fade away from around him. The last seventeen months that he had spent in a dream-like daze of emotional numbness and fear for those whom he could no longer protect, evaporated in mere seconds at the brush of_ this_ plane's familiarity as Ichigo's entire being became centred around the presence that was filling up the emptiness within his soul so wholly.

'Zangetsu.' He breathed softly; a hauntingly familiar name spilling from his lips in a silky tenor as a deep, shuddering breath was pulled into resisting lungs once his moving form came to a definitive halt. In a flurry of sensations and brewing emotions, Ichigo allowed his eyes to flutter open at the welcoming brush of warm sunlight that was teasing the skin of his cheeks and neck softly. Where spread out before him now, was a word tilted on its side that was fairly different from the last time he had seen its appearance. There was no ocean of despair anymore, no Karakura Town he had to protect...only the growth of his soul and the endless skyscrapers that reached for the very edges of the heavenly plane. The orange haired being smiled softly to himself, knowing intimately that its appearance would please the teen spirit of his Bankai release as chocolate brown eyes scanned the blue horizon for the one presence that had been calling out to him since he had first felt Zangetsu's familiar weight in his hand and his blade's overwhelming power once more humming against his soul where it belonged.

In the peripheries of his cleared vision though, Ichigo noted the edge of a frayed black cloak that was hovering several feet above him as if the air was solid beneath black booted feet. A flowing black cloak, dark and consumed in shadows, fitting around a slim frame and teen figure that was instantaneously recognizable to the orangette. Wavy brown locks, lazily fluttering at the whimsies of the wind, falling messily into two astoundingly beautiful pale blue eyes as a small, gentle, smile curled across those pale lips when Tensa Zangetsu looked down at Ichigo from his elevated height for several long moments of comforting silence. The shadows of his hooded cloak was concealing most of child-like features in shadow, the menacing form of the sword that Ichigo was still clutching his right hand now, possessing an identical twin that was resting across the brown haired teen's slim shoulder idly whilst being suspended from the end of a black chain nonchalantly by elegant fingertips.

The sound of a tinkling black chain was ringing out hauntingly through the distance of a bright Inner World, causing Ichigo to smile genuinely for the first time that night as he felt a rising contentedness streaking powerfully through his soul. It had been so long since he had felt this comforted, _this_ giddy with brewing excitement and anticipation as his Zanpactō counterpart suddenly floated down to his height and black booted feet landed on the glass window the orangette was standing on with a barely there tap. There was scarcely a body width between them now, Ichigo's breath stalling in his throat at the sensation of warm body heat pressing so close to him as he looked down at the being that was a head and half shorter than him but still remained so utterly commanding in presence and spirit. The edge of a black hood had fallen away now, showing a flash of white as the lining on the inside as furrowed brown brows gazed deeply at Ichigo with a lingering scowl of reprimand.

Black gloved fingertips, covered in a slightly more frayed fabric than Ichigo's; tightened around the hilt of a black Zanpactō as Tensa Zangetsu breathed a soft sigh of irritation and loving affection at the same time. Resting the tip of his elegant daitō against the concrete, Zangetsu abruptly used his free hand to twine his fingertips in the black crisscrossing fabric of his Master's cloak deliberately. He only gave Ichigo a second to frown at his action before the orangette was left reeling as the wavy brown haired teen suddenly pulled him closer so that their foreheads nearly collided and the orangette shivered abruptly in unexpected emotion when those pale blue eyes scanned the depths of chocolate brown orbs for something that _only_ Tensa Zangetsu could see. Their close proximity felt infinitely warm and soothing for Ichigo though, forcing him to exhale shakily at his Zanpactō spirit's presence that was only growing much more pronounced and warm against his soul as several long moments of silence passed and their noses nearly brushed together when the brown haired teen completely dismantled Ichigo's soul from the inside out with his intense and overpowering gaze alone.

'Tensa Zan―.'

'_Stop_ it, Aruji. It's unsightly and unsettling to feel your despairing emotions so deeply when your soul is strong and powerful enough to remain unshaken by even the harshest of opponents.' The brown haired being said softly, a familiar voice caressing Ichigo's ears warmly as the orangette's own frown of confusion only furrowed deeper across his forehead and his mind struggled to understand the words that his Zanpactō was trying to point out to him. Just as he was about to part his lips to impart a question though, he was interrupted instead. 'I can read your heart, Aruji. Your emotions and upset are not entirely resolved yet. Your reiatsu rising in a response to it _even_ now when you have walked away the undeniable victor in your battle. You have won, Ichigo. It is not like you to be so unbalanced.' Zangetsu said tenderly; gentle gloved fingertips coming up to rest against Ichigo's cheek soothingly in conciliation as the orange haired being blinked in surprise at the warmth and tenderness of the touch and the unexpectedness of the comforting action.

'Still like a little kid,' Zangetsu said seriously, seeking to appease Ichigo's confusion with a tender smile and a chuckle of mirth as warm fingertips swiped across the pale skin of a straight nose, pinking cheeks and a blood stained forehead several times in an undeniable pattern of contentment. 'Bathed in the blood of your enemies, eyes blown with lust and an overwhelming flood of power that is just singing impatiently beneath your skin to be let out again in rising rapture. Does it feel good, Aruji, to let out your strength to protect those who you love?' The shorter being asked tenderly, pale blue eyes reading the emotions present in his Master's eyes as a sudden flare of reiatsu sung into the depths of Ichigo's Inner World at the teen's teasing words so wholly and powerfully that the frown across Tensa's brow only deepened in thought.

'O-oi! W-whose the kid?! Shouldn't it be you?!' A mirthful laugh stained the air around them, Tensa Zangetsu taking a step back as he raised his black blade in front of him suddenly. 'Certainly not me, Ichigo. My appearance does not dictate my state of mind.' The tender smile abruptly fell pale lips though, as the seemingly younger looking soul became focused and his reiatsu flowed with rising intensity with every second that passed. 'Answer my question, Ichigo, and do not lie to me. Does it feel good to overpower your enemies so easily, to win your battles no matter how difficult the strife is? To _know_ that you have me standing by your side for every one of them?' There were several moments of long silence after that, chocolate brown eyes seeking to discern the unfathomable depths of his Zanpactō counterpart's pale blue orbs as the orangette abruptly allowed his tensed shoulders to relax and his grip loosened minutely around the hilt of his sword. He was casting his eyes downward shamefully though, not entirely sure what to feel now that he had found the truth to answer that question deep in his soul.

'I-I...y-yes...it does.'

'Then do not look away from me. There's no shame in your pleasure, Ichigo, when you reflect the need to satisfy your instincts. Allow me to show you the_ true_ pleasure of a fight. This time there's no need for you to feel an attachment to protection or to overpower your enemy. It doesn't matter anymore what you feel, Ichigo, or the regret that stains your heart so deeply. Steel your resolve, sharpen your senses because it's time we worked out the lingering traces of power that you didn't get to release on such a weak enemy. There's nothing to fear anymore, Aruji. I am by your side again and I will not leave. This time we can forge our bond deeper than before to bind us together. But first, I believe it is time that we truly let your instincts run away with you, you deserve a worthy opponent for your strength after all.'

'Only for my Aruji will my own power suffice and only for me, will I find satisfaction once our blades can cross in equal strength.' In those moments nothing mattered but the light of sparks from crossing swords dancing in the air around them; Ichigo fairly hesitant to take part in the fight at first because he wasn't quite sure what to make of its reasoning but he was eventually forced to defend himself as it became apparent that Tensa Zangetsu was not holding back against him. Strangely though, as the time continued to pass and the fight grew more intense, Ichigo felt truly alive and content as his unsettled emotions began to flit away from his grasp. His regret evaporating into thin air as chocolate brown eyes softened in glittering joy as two equal blades clashed in a well practiced pattern of enjoyment and fluid movements. There was no more expectation, no more pressing need to protect pushing him forward as the orangette for the first time ever, allowed himself to be taken away by a rested, intense and highly arousing battle of strength and flowing reiatsu.

Nothing else seemed to matter in those moments.

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><p>1* - Herrscher – German for Emperor, ruler, dominant...it seemed to fit fairly well with the story.<p>

2* - Aruji – Master, how a Zanpactō addresses its wielder.

Okay, I think that that's it for now. I apologize for the abrupt ending but I'm saving the lemon for chapter 2. I also thought that ending it off there would be a fairly good place before I gave too much away in my 'introduction' chapter. Please don't be too angry, I promise to write the next chapter in 4-5 days.

For now though, thank you reading and always putting up with my selfish whimsies. If I can receive a tiny little review for my work, I'd be very grateful and I may even work faster than normal. But other than that, I always appreciate all my readers, even when this story is fairly controversial.

Yours Always

Chocolate Carnival


	2. Chapter 1: Enraptured By Tenderness

Wow, this one's early! Umm...well, the inspiration for this one just didn't want to stop flowing so I tried to finish it off as fast as I could before I lost it again. I've spent a lot of time on this chapter, working out the kinks and so on but I'm glad that it's finished now.

This is the beginning, the **Tensa Zangetsu x Kurosaki Ichigo pairing that establishes the beginning of Transcending The Shadows**. The pairing will shift to look like this: **Tensa Zangetsu x Kurosaki Ichigo x Juhabach**. Lastly before I list all the warnings: **I want to say thank you to Quetzalcoatls** for making **a cover **for this story. I really **love **it, so **thank you once again for all your hard work. **

This chapter is dedicated to you, so I hope you enjoy it. I probably had far too much fun with this lemon but we'll see how it goes.

**The warnings for this story include**: **M/M lemons**, **rough sex**, **blood play**, **Alpha & Beta Dynamics**, a **Dominant Tensa Zangetsu**, a **Submissive Ichigo, controversial content** and an **open ending**. Apart from the **spoilers **of the **newer chapters**, it should be okay with just these. So please enjoy:

I'll see you at the end of the chapter.

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 1: Enraptured By Tenderness<strong>

The distinctive sound of clashing swords could be heard echoing into the distance of a vast Inner World; the continuing collision of reiatsu and incredible speed aiding in the flow of intensity as Ichigo only briefly took a moment to observe the effect that a simultaneous shout of 'Getsuga Tenshō' had upon this plane. The pitch black reiatsu had completely blotted out the sky, two released techniques twining together intimately midair before cancelling each other out and throwing up a tangible darkness across the previous blue heavens without restraint. It was utterly astounding, Ichigo thought to himself privately. He had never known that Tensa Zangetsu had the ability to push him into such heights of both overwhelming pleasure and intense enjoyment with a single fight alone. And it was _so_ pleasurable too, _so_ powerfully blissful that the orange haired Shinigami could feel his cheeks heating up with flushed embarrassment when his body strained to keep up with the dark, blurring figure that was accosting him from all sides with a pulsing reiatsu that felt so familiar but still so entirely different at the same time.

Inside of him, Ichigo knew _intimately,_ that something instinctual had shifted to cloud over his mind and senses so irrevocably. He could even see it; the orangette panting headily with near undetectable moans of climbing rapture as his head tipped forward with the sensation of a broken Hollow mask that had formed over his left eye several minutes ago. A tapering, deadly black horn was just visible in corner of his left eye, jutting dangerously from the side of his head as he only briefly spared a moment of confusion to its appearance when he couldn't feel a single brush of his Hollow's reiatsu in this plane along with them. But even _that_ he was forced to forget when he shuddered deeply with every brush of Tensa Zangetsu's flaring reiatsu that was skittering so powerfully across his skin. The orange haired teen instinctively raising his pitch black daitō in front of him though, to ward off a deadly blade trying to catch him in the moment his dropped guard as the action sent bright sparks skittering into the air around them and Ichigo diverted the blade's slanted path with considerable ease.

The orangette found his heart racing erratically in his chest near constantly now; chocolate brown orbs long since having changed to display his natural instinct as it left his right eye coloured beautifully silver and the left, tainted gold upon a sea of black behind a partial Hollow mask. It wasn't long however, before they abruptly glazed over with a passionate lust that was becoming harder and harder to control the more that Zangetsu's commanding elegance with a blade pushed Ichigo into a corner. Everywhere that their bodies touched, by accident or deliberately, they created an intimate sway of sensations that made the orangette mortified to acknowledge the fact that he was starting to respond to the climbing ecstasy that was flowing so powerfully and incessantly through his veins. _This_ was what he had always wanted, Ichigo thought to himself truthfully. A worthy opponent that was stronger than him, more powerful in will but far more honourable and gentle in his attacks than anyone else had ever been.

_Someone_ to show him the true pleasures of battle that he had been denying himself since the first time that his Hollow had tried to show him the joys of relying only on his instincts. It was _exceedingly_ arousing to Ichigo in the moments that crept by so agonizingly slowly. Making the orange haired teen wonder, not for the first time, exactly what was wrong with him to be stimulated by Tensa Zangetsu so powerfully and acutely as he was now. But Ichigo simply couldn't seem to help himself anymore. _Nothing_ besides their crossing swords mattered, nothing but sating the rising desire within him that was only increasing with every second that passed. He knew that he had to somehow calm the insatiable yearning that was brewing so deeply in the depths of his soul, but Ichigo simply didn't know how to anymore. This may not have been the first time that he had felt so alive in a clash of swords before, but it _was_ the first time that Ichigo was physically starting to get affected by it. And now...he wanted something...something_ more_ than just the flow of their reiatsu and the deadly dance of blades.

If he listened carefully to the voice present in Tensa Zangetsu's blade, Ichigo could hear it. The contentedness of their humming katana that was sinking into his skin, his _own_ rapture singing loudly with clash after clash after clash of twin pitch black Zanpactō over and over and over again. The orange haired being even shivering near uncontrollably at depthless pale blue eyes that were burning into his soul; watching him intently as Ichigo brought up a gloved hand to deflect a significantly weaker Getsuga Tenshō without even flinching at the bleeding cut that was scored across his cheek or Tensa's slim frame that flickered out of existence for several seconds before reappearing mere inches in front of him. Two black daitōs crossed instantly; vibrating close to their hearts as Ichigo's eyelids flutter half-mast in bliss to their new closely twined proximity. He could_ finally_ discern it, the addicting and arousing scent that was clinging to Zangetsu's pale skin as Ichigo felt the heat of the slightly smaller teen's body pressing ever closer to him so addictively.

The newly instated Substitute Shinigami's entire being was leaning forward to burn the rushing sensations into the depths of his mind; his heart resonating peacefully within his chest as Ichigo practically purred at the lingering need that ignited across his trembling limbs and only sought to intensify itself the closer that Tensa strayed to him now. He was even moaning lowly because of it; pale cheeks colouring an attractive red as Ichigo blinked lazily against that sunlight that started to break through the canopy of powerful black reishi. He was finally content, falling into his power with a comfortable ease as he parted lush petal pink lips to call out _one_ name. The one name that was starting to mean more to him than Ichigo had ever thought possible, especially because of the yearning call that was spilling so freely and yieldingly from the depths of his very soul.

'_Zan_getsu...T-Tensa Zangetsu...please I―.'

'Hush. I know, Aruji. I can feel it too.' A soothing voice noted calmingly; a smaller frame leaning fully against him, moulding their forms intimately so that pale lips could brush against the shell of dainty ear erotically. Their swords, Ichigo noted were still crossed; trembling in strain as the orangette felt an uncomfortable heat and needy arousal searing through his blood scorchingly in mere seconds. What was happening to him? Why was he responding so unexpectedly to this? Ichigo's heart was desperately reaching out to bind their souls closer together as he groaned his beloved Zanpactō's name softly in rapture and pleading tone once again. 'You are strong, Ichigo. Only stronger now that you have found the truth of your emotions and instincts. There is no shame in the pleasure you feel, no shame in my own pleasure. I am happy that you are responding to me like you are now. Nothing can make me more content than seeing you as you truly are.'

After those words had been spoken, Ichigo was only granted a single moment of reprieve to draw in a shaky breath before his lingering confusion and questioning thoughts flitted away and Tensa Zangetsu suddenly vanished from his sight again. Mourning the loss of his warm presence deeply, Ichigo came to a shuddering halt mid air to collect himself a bit more. His breaths were rasping painfully in his throat, his mind spinning as every emotion he had felt that night: sorrow, fear, pain, regret, joy, pleasure, contentment, relief...they all came to a startling pinnacle within him as Ichigo dropped his head forward and a true smile curled the corner of his lips for several moments. His heart was telling him that he had found what he had been looking for his entire life. He had found the being to fill up the emptiness within his heart, the guiding hand to keep him in control and the being that could soothe away the aching fracture that had been torn in his soul seventeen months ago.

_Everything_ was falling away from around him, Ichigo's world suddenly coming to grounding halt around him as miscoloured orbs observed the shadow draped figure of Zangetsu standing in the air several feet away from him. Creating a fairly large distance between them, Ichigo could only watch with a little frown as Tensa Zangetsu suddenly switched his Zanpactō to his left hand and a similar smile of reassurance curled at stoic lips as pale blue eyes gazed affectionately at Ichigo for several moments of silence. Merely taking in the beautiful image that Ichigo made to him now with a black cloak-like kosode fluttering behind him erratically; elegant black gloved fingertips tightening against a black blade's hilt as the orangette's head tilted curiously to the side at the Zanpactō spirit's action. Ichigo unknowing and sensually displayed his menacing curved horn, glinting black in the sunlight, as two mismatched eyes gazed at Tensa Zangetsu with a lust filled intensity that was returned in equal strength.

It was just as he wanted it, Tensa Zangetsu thought contentedly. His Master was absolutely beautiful when released to such a state, his entire being enraptured and enslaved by his ragging, natural instincts that were only growing the more that he drew out this fight of Alpha dominance and Beta submission.

'Ichigo...I know that you are feeling confused and inexplicably aroused at the moment, but I'll explain the details to you later, I promise. Since I have pushed you into releasing _that_ state, however, it is only fair that I claim the Beta that is standing before me so proudly. To be able to do that, Aruji, to make you _truly_ happy and to bind our souls closer than ever before. I need to return to the essence of what I truly am. What I show you here tonight, Ichigo, you have to _promise_ me you will _never_ attempt by yourself unless I cannot come to your side to protect you and you are facing an enemy that is no less than ten times the strength that Aizen Sousuke possessed in the last battle you had with him.' Tensa pointed out seriously and Ichigo could feel his frown furrowing deeper across tangerine brows; his mind not quite sure what to make of those words as he observed the wavy brown haired teen critically for a long time. Bringing up his own gloved fingertips to curiously caress the edge of a black horn in the hopes of finding a distraction for his racing thoughts; mismatched eyes of silver and gold gazed at the shorter being for a long time of contemplation before he nodded in agreement.

'Say it.' The wavy brown haired being commanded and Ichigo did, making a sole promise to his very soul to obey those words as he watched intently as pale blue eyes flashed with a lingering satisfaction before Tensa Zangetsu brought his right hand to his lips decisively. Ichigo scowled deeply, not sure what to make of the flow of events. But the instant that a flash of teeth gripped a hold of the edge of ragged black fabric to tug off the brunette's glove...the orangette's entire world shattered around him. The instantaneous flood of power throughout his Inner World was so great and overwhelming that Ichigo trembled at its rising intensity. A shuddering breath was tugged painfully into resisting lungs; not even an inkling of fear touching his heart as something instinctual and overpoweringly needy clicked back into place in his soul mere seconds later. Pitch black reiatsu was swirling wildly around Tensa Zangetsu's form, engulfing him in a sea of black and hiding his slim frame in a lashing, obscuring darkness for a long time of mind bending intensity before everything became alarmingly still and clear in the vast spread of Ichigo's Inner World with an explosion of white smoke.

The orange haired teen rushed forward in concern instantly, his eyes left blinking away the surprise as tried to make sure that what he was seeing was correct and not a trick played on his mind. When Tensa Zangetsu finally emerged from the miasma of white; standing in Ichigo's presence was the image of a being that could only be likened to an angel now. Only those large wings were pitch black and constructed of pure reishi instead of feathers. Spreading from the back of a flowing black cloak, they bowed protectively around Tensa's form to create an astoundingly beautiful sight before Ichigo was forced to do a double take when the wavy brown haired teen suddenly rushed forward in an indiscernible blur of incredible agility. That was it! Something had _definately_ shattered within him, Ichigo was sure of it this time. He dropped his head forward submissively, a moan of pure pleasure spilling from his lips as his pitch black blade was deliberately let go of with uncurling, gloved fingertips.

The black daitō tumbled from Ichigo's grasp in surrender, dropping several feet as the deadly tip sunk several inches into the concrete building below them without care. But Ichigo hardly noticed anymore, his blood was roaring deafeningly loud in his ears. The orangette looking up lazily at the blurring form that was rushing towards him so quickly and with such a flood of dominating reiatsu that everything seemed to slow around him in a brush of unexplained tranquillity and unnamed anticipation. A calming breath filled his lungs soothingly, Ichigo opening his arms with no fear like the last time that Tensa Zangetsu had rushed towards him like this. There was nothing left, Ichigo had found what he had been looking for, there could be no doubt. And in those few seconds, Ichigo let go of everything that he had been holding back inside. This time he could sense Tensa Zangetsu's absolute pleasure at his yielding heart the instant that the slightly shorter teen collided with his chest.

The sudden force was enough to send the both of them hurtling to the building's surface below them though; Ichigo's back colliding with cracking glass as Zangetsu's pitch black Zanpactō sunk into the concrete beside his head mere millimetres from inflicting any harm upon his form. The orange haired teen's features were flushing sensually; his chest heaving up and down as pale and newly revealed fingertips came up to rest against his cheek in a touch of comfort. They were still there, Ichigo noted. Beautiful, pitch black wings that were fused with his Zanpactō spirit's back and seemed to bow and bend around them at their master's absolute command. The orangette had no idea _what_ was going on anymore but it didn't matter when Tensa's gloved left hand came upwards to caress the edge of a cracked black mask that was settled across the top of Ichigo's left cheek, furrowed brow and eye before they dragged slow, deliberate caresses against the angled and sharp horn from base to tapering tip several times.

And from within Ichigo's throat, a strange noise of pleasure was spilling into the air that was likened to a purring cat as he abruptly arched back into the deeply satisfying sensations of a noticeable weight straddling his hips intimately. 'W-what is that? W-what are you? Z-Zangetsu...w-what the _hell_ did you do to me?!' Ichigo was yelling in rising upset now, his vision blurring with the comforting sensation that was spreading so powerfully through his heart as pale blue eyes suddenly filled up the rest of his vision when Tensa Zangetsu leant forward to rest their foreheads together whilst still remaining mindful of the small addition that Ichigo had taken on over the last few minutes. 'Shizukesa (1*), Aruji. I'll answer your questions later. As to what you are feeling, Ichigo. It is your rightful pleasure after having finished an Alpha Selection and picking out your mate. I'd advise you to try not to make sense of things quite yet, beloved. You're about to lose yourself in something you have never felt before but will be infinitely more rewarding than anything else.'

'Tensa―!'

'Know that what happens now Ichigo, _will_ tie us together with a bond that is far more intimate than before.'

Ichigo was just about to protest again, to demand that his questions be answered but he was silenced so easily by warm lips that slid sensually over his instead. It was a teasing caress that was so soft and infinitely warm that just when Ichigo thought he had finally regained a little of his coherency; it flitted away from his grasp with a low reverberating moan that spilled from his lips and became muffled against a warm, wet mouth that was offering such a delicious brush of blissful rapture that Ichigo felt his stomach twisting in clear anticipation. Mismatched eyes fluttered shut under the touch, his heart crying out within him that everything was as it should be as the orangette leant upwards into the caress of slick lips and he eagerly welcomed a scorching, domineering tongue into the depths of his mouth.

Elegant gloved fingertips were burying in waving brown locks, tugging at infinitely soft strands as Ichigo allowed the sensations of a twining tongue to pull him into an intimate dance of licentious fire that was filled with a needy want and an overwhelming spread of ecstasy that he had been feeling brewing in his heart since he had first crossed blades with Tensa Zangetsu that night. Black gloved fingertips slid against the back of pale neck, seeking to pull Tensa closer to him as Ichigo lost the last remains of his reason and merely allowed the instinctual cloud that had descended upon his mind before to take over completely. He parted his thighs, welcoming his beloved's form closer to him as a glaze of insatiable lust became visible when his eyes fluttered open in a disappointing moan when Zangetsu pulled back to break their intimate entanglement of lips. Ichigo was struggling for breath, allowing his head to fall to the side as warm lips whispered against the skin of his temple and a knowing hand suddenly came to rest against the fabric of a cloak-like kosode that was drawn across his heart.

'Hnnn...Z-Zangetsu...I d-don't understand...more...please I want―.'

'I'll give you what you want, Aruji. I can satisfy the yearning in your heart just as you are the only one that can satisfy me.'

**...**

'Don't hold yourself back, Ichigo. I'll take care of you, I promise.' A lilting tenor noted truthfully against the shell of a dainty ear; Ichigo moaning lowly in his throat as he shuddered deeply at the press of a sly tongue that abruptly slipped into the canal of his ear for a teasing caress. The touch was so unusual and unexpected that it sent an odd twist of anxiety curling in his stomach, forcing Ichigo to bare his neck in an attempt to shift away from the weird sensations that was burning so heatedly and incessantly through his veins. He could feel a lingering smirk brushing against his skin seconds later; Tensa Zangetsu taking advantage of the opportunity Ichigo had just created before the orangette's gloved fingertips twined in Zangetsu's black cloak to ground himself against what knew was to come. His mind was reeling with an internal battle of wills, Ichigo no longer sure what to do with himself as he remained hesitant about accepting the sensations and the wavy brown haired teen's easy and powerful dominance that flowed so wholly over his trembling and straining limbs.

Something inside of the orangette wanted to fight the reiatsu that was curling so possessively around him, to rip those black wings from his Zanpactō's back in a fit of rage to get his questions answered! But the other part of him, the part that was much more aroused and affected by a naturally overbearing reiatsu, wanted something more than just the comfort that he was already feeling in the arms of this being. Ichigo wanted something deeper and much more loving to bind his soul irrevocably for eternity. So, it was no surprise that Ichigo didn't know what to feel emotionally anymore. But when tugging teeth suddenly latched onto the side of neck; curiously mismatched eyes fluttered closed under the explosion of highly addicting arousal that spread alarmingly hot through his rushing blood. A cry of sheer eroticism was instantly tugged from parted petal pink lips, Ichigo arching back to bring himself closer to the sensation as pale fingertips wound in soft orange locks with a warning tug when he nearly dislodged Tensa's weight that was straddling his hips so intimately.

'Tensa!' Ichigo cried out harshly, his mind clouding over with lingering rapture when teeth broke through the skin of his neck and a sensual slide of crimson rivulets ran teasingly against his flesh before sinking into the fabric of his kosode and the strange black armour-like additions that traced around the back of his neck protectively. Ichigo clenched his eyes shut in strain, bringing up his own hand to stifle his pleasured cries fairly valiantly for the out of control sensations that he was feeling so wholly. Strangely though, the orange haired being felt_ no_ pain. It was as if the overwhelming flood of carnal instinct burning in the pit of his stomach only increased in intensity as his breath hitched painfully in his chest and Ichigo desperately brought his free hand around a slim torso to dig clenching fingers into Tensa Zangetsu's back. Bunching soft material between black gloved fingertips harshly; Ichigo panted for his breath as his mind spun at the passionate desire that was assaulting him from all sides.

His rational mind was reeling at the turn of events, screaming at him that this was wrong! That there was _something_ that he didn't quite understand yet and that he shouldn't want this, but Ichigo's heart and soul wanted it so _very_ badly. And with the brush of a soothing tongue now running apologetically against the broken skin of his neck; those beautiful pale blue eyes completely dismantled Ichigo's unnecessary doubts and overpowered him with an uncontained lust that completely blew away the orangette's misgivings and unsettled anxiety that had been drifting through his heart ever since he had seen Tensa reveal this form to him. But it was gone now, evaporated into thin air as Ichigo struggled to draw a proper breath into his lungs that wasn't tainted with a pleasured groan and mismatched eyes gazed up at the form that was hovering over him so protectively now. Tensa Zangetsu was balancing an agile frame sensually across Ichigo's torso, his knees resting on either side of his Beta's hips with two palms pressing against a blue building beside Ichigo's head reassuringly as he briefly allowed the orangette a glimpse into the depths of his eyes.

Leaving the Substitute Shinigami to groan softly at the peculiarly arousing sight of blood that fell from the corner of pale, stoic lips; Ichigo impatiently arched his back against harsh glass and concrete to bring himself closer to his Zanpactō spirit in anxious need. The contrast drawn across pale skin was absolutely startling to Ichigo, forcing him to lean on his elbows so that he could pass a slick pink tongue against the corner of the smaller being's lips to erase the taint_ his_ blood had made as he absently sought to brush his fingertips against the quivering black wings that seemed to come alive with swirling reiatsu at the wavy brunette's contented emotions. Slim fingertips instantly gripped a hold of his wrist though, stilling the orangette's movements before Ichigo could touch them and a deep frown of reprimand settled across Zangetsu's brow at the action. Bringing up Ichigo's captured hand to lay a consoling kiss upon a gloved palm, Tensa Zangetsu allowed his lips to whisper against warm fingertips just to hear the contented purr that his Master let out.

'Be careful, Aruji. You must never touch them directly.' Tensa Zangetsu said warningly; leaning forward to brush his lips against furrowed tangerine brows to soothe away the confusion that he could see lighting those lust filled silver and gold eyes so sensually. Pressing the pad of his forefinger against the tapering tip of Ichigo's menacing black horn, the brunette deliberately caressed the sensitive tip until the orangette was mewling erratically below him, even sighing in sheer rapture the instant that Zangetsu ran the tip of his tongue against the odd appendage that so rightfully signified Ichigo's yielding will to the awakening rush of his Hollow instincts. 'It may look pretty and attractive, Ichigo. But they are _terrifyingly_ destructive. They will steal your reiatsu, deplete you of all your power if you are not wary of their presence. It is hard enough keeping them in control as is, please don't hurt yourself on them as well.' At his sobering words, which Ichigo somehow managed to take to heart despite his headily aroused state; left the orangette to offer a nod of understanding before his hands fell passively back to his sides.

'Good boy.' Zangetsu praised softly, a playful tongue dragging against the orange haired Shinigami's right cheek in consolation as Ichigo sighed blissfully under his ministrations. It wasn't long after that before Ichigo was pulled into the flow of insatiable need and climbing rapture again; this time instinctively following Tensa Zangetsu when the teen suddenly pulled away from Ichigo to settle himself back against the building instead. The action; meant to keep Ichigo out of harm's way from the destruction of his incomplete Vollständig (2*) form, left the orangette to frown at the loss of his Alpha's warmth before Ichigo settled himself between parted thighs when Tensa Zangetsu's beckoning fingertips and sweetly calling voice lured him closer. Eagerly leaning into the warmth of restrictive arms that wound firmly around his waist, Ichigo shifted impatiently at the brush of sly fingertips that eventually trailed up the inside of his kneeling thigh to deliberately brush against the hardened arousal that Ichigo was only now starting to notice.

The orangette shuddered abruptly at the exploding pleasure it created, moaning softly in delight as he pressed his forehead against a warm shoulder and allowed his senses to be overwhelmed by Tensa's addictive scent. It reminded him of blood, shadows, unrestrained power and burning fire that was ragging eternally against his soul. He wanted to sear it into his skin, to mark a pale shoulder with his bite, to―.

'Are you enjoying yourself, Aruji?' A mirthful voice asked playfully; successfully tugging Ichigo from his thoughts to force a deeper flush across pinked cheeks when Ichigo was prompted to give a reluctant nod of affirmation at those words. Tensa Zangetsu was chuckling softly at the orangette's bashfulness, lying warm fingertips against the sluggishly bleeding bite that he had carved into Ichigo's neck to trace the skin there softly. Ichigo was only given a second to breathe after that; the shorter being abruptly shattering Ichigo's world by forcing an overwhelming force of reiatsu into the wound that had the orange haired teen's head spinning in rapture and his back bowing into the touch as he tried to entwine their forms more erotically together than before. Ichigo was crying out loudly, his bottom lip tugged between biting teeth as a flood of frustrated tears gathered in the corner of his eyes when there was no true satisfaction to his torrential pleasure or the throbbing need pulsing along his hardened arousal that was only ever teased through the fabric of black hakama. Ichigo was slowly losing his mind, he was _sure_ of it.

Before he could stop himself though, the orange haired Substitute Shinigami sealed his lips with a pale pair gently. A slick slide of tongues instantly twined in an intimate dance as Ichigo brought up clumsy fingertips in search of a way to loosen the impressive black cloak from his beloved's form. The flow of reiatsu into him never seemed to stop; completely saturating his skin, sinking into the very core of his soul as Ichigo whined irritably when gloved fingertips struggled to find the clasp in his Zanpactō spirit's cloak. Gentle fingertips curled around his wrist soothingly, leading them upwards as a way to steady their trembling when a small noise of triumph finally indicated that Ichigo had found the golden clasp that was sealing his beloved's slim frame from him. Emblazoned with a familiar five pointed pattern on a small rounded disk that Ichigo only noticed now; the orangette impatiently undid the tie in Tensa Zangetsu's cloak without second thought to his actions or what he saw.

He wanted more, so much more! Ichigo wanted to sear the scent of Tensa Zangetsu across his skin, to burn his lingering touches into his heart and to memorize every single sensual moment that skittered across his soul for eternity. Boldly sliding his lips against a pale neck decisively, Ichigo dragged his tongue against pale skin that tasted just as sweet as it smelled before he impatiently pushed aside a flowing black cloak to display a naked torso, tight black pants and thigh length black boots beneath. Grinding his teeth against a pale shoulder harshly, Ichigo eventually forced a flood of blood to burn across his tongue as he purred deeply in delight at the sudden explosion of possessive reiatsu that pressed down upon him with a lingering moan that was tugged from Zangetsu's throat. Laying curious fingers against a slim, sculpted abdomen, Ichigo eventually allowed his lips to whisper against pale skin...trailing a wake of red in his sensual path as he worked his way down a slim torso despite the slow spread of deepening crimson that coloured his nose at his own emboldened actions.

Pale fingertips wound in soft orange locks; tugging warningly when Ichigo's tapering black horn nearly drew blood across an abdomen that was rising and falling with strained breaths so that Ichigo could look up at the satisfied smirk that was curled across pale lips fairly joyfully. A warning whisper for him to be careful forced Ichigo to turn away in mortification when he suddenly experienced a moment of sobriety to take notice of what he was doing. Seeking to find a little upset at the sheer satisfaction that was glowing in pale blue orbs though; left Ichigo mewling softly when Tensa Zangetsu suddenly brought up his palms to lay them against Ichigo's flushed cheeks tenderly. Bringing himself forwards so that he could force Ichigo into a fierce entanglement of tongues; the orangette could only shudder pleasurably at the touch that was teeming with a growing passionate pleasure. Ichigo's lingering shame suddenly flitted away from his mind; sly fingertips curling around his gloved wrist to push his hand towards the tie in a hakama's white sash as if imploring him to undo the tie that was still keeping the black fabric secured to thin hips.

'_What_ did I tell you about feeling shame in your pleasure, Aruji? This is not the place to think. Listen only to your instincts and do what your soul is telling you to do. Not your mind.' Moaning softly at soft wavy brown locks that brushed tenderly against his cheek when Tensa Zangetsu leaned forward to whisper in his ear, caused Ichigo to shiver with a little frown of trepidation when gloved fingertips pressed against the back of his neck harshly. Forcing Ichigo to press his lips against smooth skin that was tainted with the sweet scent of lingering need and growing anticipation; the orangette's eyes fluttered half-mast as his gaze became tainted with instinctual lust. He was taking in the child-like features that were fairly stoic in Zangetsu's own pleasure now, showing very little true emotion _despite_ the soft glow that had started to colour pale blue orbs in an attractive light. They were gazing down at him lovingly however; filling Ichigo's heart with warmth before the orangette gave a shaky sigh and passed a curious palm against a straining bulge that had stolen his full attention.

'I-I want to taste. Can I―?' A chuckle of deep amusement resounded throughout the depths of the orangette's Inner World. The sound forcing Ichigo to shiver in delight when the fingers buried in his hair, gave a little playful tug of reprimand.

'You've already surrendered your soul to me, Ichigo.' Tensa Zangetsu said proudly; a forefinger dragging soothingly against a soft, flushed, cheek. 'Just as I am giving you mine. You may do whatever you wish, Aruji. It is _your_ pleasure, remember.' Those words were all the encouragement that Ichigo needed; his fingertips undoing the button and zipper with curious, uncertain movements as a soothing palm continuously caressed the back of his neck in support. Sliding sly and knowing fingertips through messy orange locks; Ichigo's soul was soon humming contentedly at the comforting touches as he did not even flinch away at the impressive size of his Alpha's erection that was already fully hardened and begging for attention. Ichigo wasn't really giving things much thought anymore. All that mattered in that moment was that he satisfied the pleasure that his beloved Zanpactō's soul seemed to crave. Slipping the tip of his tongue against a weeping slit experimentally, Ichigo eventually built up enough courage to pull the length into the depths of his mouth a bit further.

The reaction from Tensa Zangetsu was near instant; fingertips dug painfully against scalp. Two hands now pressing against the back of Ichigo's head to push the hardened length a little deeper into him as the orangette relaxed himself against the guiding touch that slow and careful rocking hips created along with the bitter but sweet brush of white droplets that dripped curiously onto his tongue. Ichigo was breathing heavily in strain, a ragging explosion of need twisting a tightening coil in his stomach as he rocked backwards and forwards when he seemed to find a slow and uncertain pace that had Tensa arching against him desperately. Several curses of hissed rapture were spilling into the air around them; the newly formed connection Ichigo had only now started to notice, burning the younger looking teen's pleasure straight into his very soul. It was intensely overwhelming for him, Ichigo moaning around his mouthful as his own gloved hand impatiently fiddled with the tie in his white sash.

He felt empty. Like he was lacking something very important and _only_ the being curled so erotically around him, would _ever_ be able to gift him with the satisfaction that he craved so yearningly. So Ichigo allowed his internal instincts to take over; his ears colouring a blissful red at the subdued noises of bliss that he tugged from his lover's throat as he finally untied the sash around his waist and allowed black hakama to slide sensually down his thighs with a silken caress. Causing a delayed shiver of need to race up his spine when cool air caressed his own straining arousal that was wet with dripping pre-come, Ichigo closed his eyes against the internal and instinctual struggle that was twisting his stomach almost painfully in unfulfilled desire. That was it! He could hardly take it anymore! Ichigo wanted something deeper tying him to Tensa, something that could never be broken and just as he was about to lose himself to something he could not entirely understand; soothing fingertips slid against his scalp in a gentle touch of affection.

'That's enough, Ichigo. You can play later, if you want. Making me lose control of myself now will only stop me from claiming you properly.' Tugging on messy orange locks impatiently; Tensa Zangetsu easily forced Ichigo away from his treat before surprisingly strong fingertips curled around the teen's upper arm and tugged the orangette closer to him so that Ichigo was sprawled sensually across his beloved's lap. A muffled cry of surprise rang out in the air around them seconds after Ichigo had knelt between parted thighs; the seventeen-year-old arching back abruptly in a sensual curl when firm fingertips gripped the base of his straining arousal and dragged a delicious sensation of sated pleasure against his hardened flesh. Following a sensitive pattern that Ichigo had only ever experienced with his own fingertips before, left the orangette panting in wailing need when he could only frown a bit at the brunette's two fingers that slipped inside his mouth in an assertive touch. The words imploring him to wet them were enough to satisfy his curiosity though, as Ichigo obeyed his Zanpactō spirit's words. He was losing every last brush of rational thought, Ichigo knew. But he didn't care anymore. He simply couldn't―.

'_Relax_, Aruji. Relax into your pleasure, I do not want to hurt you too much but I cannot hold myself back much longer. I'm sorry, Ichigo.' At those words, Ichigo could only frown before his world was abruptly shattered around him. He bit down instinctively; the two fingertips in his mouth the only distraction he could find as something hard and intensely overwhelming ripped into his very soul. Ichigo's pained cry was muffled against Zangetsu's impromptu gag, a fog of rapture searing through the depths of his mind as Ichigo still found a brush of _pure_ pleasure inside of him despite the intense pain that was assaulting him so powerfully from all sides. Icy cold tendrils of frustrated tears were slipping passed clenched eyelids, Ichigo panting in strain as he gripped two slim shoulders painfully tight. A soothing murmur of words were brushing against the side of his neck an indiscernible amount of time later; slim hands digging into his back, bunching a cloak-like kosode between fingertips now that Ichigo's lips were parted in a litany of pained moans that were only being tainted with pleasure the more that time seemed to passed.

The orange haired teen hardly noticed anymore, however; leaning down so that he could lay his forehead against Tensa's and to bring their lips together in a gentle kiss that instantly took away all of his lingering pain. The world was fading away from around him slowly, Ichigo's bottom lip tugged by his lover's teeth slyly as the wavy brown haired teen shifted against Ichigo to gain needy friction for the length that he had buried inside of his Beta with a single thrust. Something wet and slick was sliding down the orangette's thighs; easing his beloved's path. But Ichigo didn't want to look down. He was afraid that it was blood _despite_ the fact that his mind was filled with only sheer pleasure and contentedness at the sensations. It still wouldn't matter, Ichigo thought dizzyingly. He was _totally_ lost in climbing rapture when a single thrust suddenly evaporated his thoughts in an instant. Breaking through a wall of protection that the teen had built around his heart in fear of letting anyone close to him so intimately; the orangette was left reeling in his new found comfort irrevocably.

'T-Tensa..._please_...m-more...I want...' An incoherent tumble of words was spilling past petal pink lips; Ichigo's mismatched eyes fluttering shut in pure bliss when a set pace of harsh thrusts dismantled his mind and body completely. His beloved Zanpactō's name was spiralling into the air around them, tainting the atmosphere with his pleasure as Ichigo let go of everything that he had been afraid of and allowed the pure carnal instincts of their act to take over his entire soul. He was enslaved by these sensations. Tensa Zangetsu winding him in unbreakable chains that was attaching themselves to his heart in a restrictive bind. Ichigo_ loved_ it. He couldn't breathe anymore, his vision tainted with inevitable dots of black...but it was always just too little to throw him off the sheer cliff that his climbing instincts had reached within him. He needed something _more_ intense to push him over the edge―.

'F-fuck! Zangetsu!' Ichigo cried out deafeningly, arching back wildly in the ultimate peak of his bliss when biting teeth suddenly latched onto the mark against the side of his neck harshly. A rapturous keen spilled deeply from his lungs in a rush; Ichigo's entire world ceasing to exist around him as it suspended him between two worlds of life and death. _Everything_ had crumbled, his very soul rebuilt under his Zanpactō's touch that Ichigo never again wanted to leave not that he had found it. He could only see white as shock and shock of intense pleasure shot up his spine and broke through his mind as he dug his own teeth into Zangetsu's shoulder. His reiatsu was swirling around him in pitch black, dazed eyes only vaguely aware of those pitch black wings flaring out behind his beloved before Ichigo forced an overwhelming flood of reiatsu into the wound he had created and found his world tainted black when Tensa Zangetsu did the same to him in tandem to every beat of his erratic heart.

Ichigo had found the pinnacle of his very soul, his mind fading into darkness as something scorching hot released deep inside of him and dragged his consciousness into a comforting oblivion of utter rapture.

'Tensa..._Z-Zangetsu_...'

* * *

><p>Pale blue eyes gazed tenderly at the orange haired teen that was sprawled so happily across his lap; a pale temple rubbing playfully against his thigh as Ichigo let out a continued rush of purrs that only a contented Beta had the ability to make. A lingering smile was curling the corners of usually stoic lips, a flash of his own blissful emotions saturating fathomless blue orbs as Tensa Zangetsu passed gentle fingertips through messy orange locks soothingly. He could feel it intensely; Ichigo's very soul that was bound so closely to his as it pulsed happily in the pleasure that he had gifted his beloved Aruji several minutes before. It was absolutely astounding, Zangetsu thought to himself absently. Ichigo's pleasure had been so great that it had restrained the both of them in such a rush that the wavy brown haired teen had been surprised to find that the awakening side of Ichigo's Quincy powers had consumed his reishi wings as if it was nothing more than a simple particle of reiatsu.<p>

Unbelievable! Tensa had known that his Master was strong but this was..._this_ was bordering on the powers that his True Soul possessed more than anything else. Something that he had not expected to see, much less _feel_ for himself. But he couldn't have been more content himself. When he had initiated the beginnings of his dominance over Ichigo's powers earlier, he had not thought that he would able to push Ichigo into awakening his own Beta instincts so wholly or for himself to get chosen as his Master's Alpha. But it did remain a strange god-send however, because it made claiming Ichigo much easier than he had thought and also pointed out the fact that the orange haired seventeen-year-old remained more reliant on his Hollow powers than he had first thought. Well _was_ more reliant actually; not anymore because the orangette would now start to rely much more on his Quincy part as that source of power would 'feel' like Zangetsu to him. The _Alpha_ that had claimed him.

'You are a walking contradiction, Aruji. So eternally beautiful and untainted by even the darkness in your soul.' Tensa Zangetsu whispered lovingly; his lips pressing against the top of an orange head where that long tapering black horn had finally dissipated earlier and he was sure that those mismatched eyes had returned to their normal chocolate brown hue. Ichigo was fast asleep; a captive to his subconscious where he retained no awareness to the world around him. Even the outside world, where Zangetsu had felt several of Ichigo friends and family surrounding him earlier, seemed to have little hold over his Master's peaceful rest and contented thoughts. Hopefully they had been smart enough to place a barrier around Ichigo though; otherwise their beloved Substitute Shinigami may just have unconsciously destroyed more than half of the forest he had been in when the brunette had first called him to here. But it wouldn't matter now, Zangetsu_ finally_ possessed the ability to keep Ichigo happy as well as protect him for eternity. It was all that he had wanted and needed; something that the fragment that was attached to Juhabach's soul was sure the true Zangetsu would want as well...

Ichigo was their world, the only being that they wished to stand beside and protect from the pain and harm that reality can create so cruelly. He was _their_ beloved Master and would remain so until the day that they all died together in his hands. Tugged from the depths of his sombre thoughts by a needy whine that curled in air around him, though; forced a brief chuckle of amusement to spill passed pale lips as Ichigo's gloved fingertips clenched the edges of Zangetsu's cloak before an unsettled frown curled across tangerine brows that had lost their perpetual scowl for all but ten minutes before it came crawling back again. Ichigo was probably bothered by something again, something that Tensa Zangetsu now had the ability to soothe away. Prompting the younger looking teen to lay his fingertips against the mark he had carved into the side of Ichigo's neck with his reiatsu, he only briefly noted that Ichigo seemed to lean towards him in his disturbed rest. Instinctively seeking out his Claiming Alpha's eternal comfort and consolation.

The wound wasn't bleeding so much anymore, but it must have been hurting him. _Something_ had to have disturbed his beloved's rest for Ichigo to become so unsettled in his tranquillity again. So Tensa Zangetsu pressed his lips to a pale temple, tugging softly at the messy orange strands at the base of Ichigo's neck as he slowly but surely roused his sleeping Master from the depths of his pleasant dreams and into a dazed wakefulness again. 'Wake up, Aruji. Let's heal that wound for you...' A barely restrained groan of displeasure could be heard echoing into the depths of a vast Inner World as dazed chocolate brown eyes fluttered open at a familiar call and a gentle voice. Warm fingertips, pressing incessantly against his shoulder, eventually caused Ichigo to turn on his back as he gazed up at the blurry features of his Zanpactō spirit that was observing him with a tender smile curled at those usually stoic lips.

'Tensa Zangetsu?' Ichigo breathed with a touch of confusion; instinctively leaning upwards when warm lips suddenly slid over his tenderly and a soothing warmth flooded through the depths of his entire soul in an overwhelming rush of pure contentedness. It was impossible, Ichigo couldn't really make sense of what was happening as his mind was not quite awake yet. But he happily traced a pale cheek with black gloved fingertips when a warm tongue was pulled away from between his lips and warm sunlight glinted playfully across the string of saliva that still connected their tongues intimately. Outlining the attractive features that observed him with a brush of tenderness that felt both warm and infinitely soothing to his soul now; Ichigo easily read the depths of pale blue eyes as he shivered softly when warm fingertips laid across the burning throb of pain that was searing into the skin of his neck. Easily taking away the pain from him, Ichigo allowed his eyes to flutter shut again in a brush of true, _lazy_, contentment...

'Zangetsu...' He called softly, _cementing_ into his mind that he had finally regained what had rightfully been his.

He had Zangetsu...and Zangetsu had him.

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><p>1* - Shizukesa – Hush<p>

2* - Vollständig – The Quincies fully released form. From my first language it sounds quite interisting because it can be interpreted as 'the last stand'. But that was just for interest sake, most will probably realize its significance.

Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it and for those of you who reviewed, I really appreciate it. If I could ask for another small one, I'd be very happy that this story went off so well. I can finally file it under another completed challenge to myself.

Any questions, don't be afraid to PM me, but other than that...I'll be starting on something else by tomorrow sometime. I'll be posting the update counter on my Blog by then and a note on my profile for when to expect it.

Yours Always

Chocolate Carnival


	3. Chapter 2: Pledge To The Soul

This was a totally unexpected update my Honeys, it just carried me away and I have some good news. Transcending The Shadows has officially fallen over from three separate two-shots to a complete multi-chapter fic. I wasn't expecting it but I just love this story a little too much to let it go so quickly and I can take my time with it properly. I want to keep this one open because it has a lot of potential.

There are some warnings for this story, it is DARK because I like writing that these days. Also, this stories warnings will be listed more clearly now that I have established both the plot and all the characters. This story is also controversial so I expect you to heed my warnings.

This story contains: **M/M Lemons**, **Angst**, **Dark Content**, **Violence**, a **twist on the pairing** because **Tensa Zangetsu is the Dominant** and **Kurosaki Ichigo the submissive**. That won't change, so don't even bother asking me to. **Alpha & Beta Dynamics**, a now **set threesome pairing** between Tensa Zangetsu x Kurosaki Ichigo x Juhabach. Also, this story contains something that I call **Reverse Visual Shouta** since Tensa's appearance is so young.

Visually I see Tensa as somewhere between 12 – 14. So that means, visually, an innocent older-in-appearance Ichigo gets dominated by the smaller in stature and younger-looking Tensa Zangetsu. If that's not your cup of tea, I don't want to hear it. The first part should already have prepared you for it by now.

The set pairing is: **Tensa Zangetsu (**天鎖斬月**)** **x Kurosaki Ichigo (**黒崎 一護**) x Juhabach (**ユーハバッハ**)**

The warnings for this chapter itself, is only a** lime **so it's still pretty mild. Other than that, I shall hand it over to my honeys. I'm too tired to think of more. Please don't read further if the warnings have put you off, I'll not be held responsible for you beyond this point.

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 2: Pledge To The Soul<strong>

'Scarves aren't regulation school uniform, Kurosaki. Why are you wearing one?' Casting a chocolate brown eyed gaze to the side irritably at the resounding echo of those words, Ichigo allowed an irritable 'che' to spill passed petal pink lips as tanned fingertips lifted upwards to tug on a long blood red scarf that was wound loosely and artfully around his neck. This wouldn't be the first time that he had been asked that same question over the past six weeks but it had taken Ishida quite a _long_ time to notice its near constant presence around his neck, Ichigo thought vindictively. Offering the black haired teen a well-practised answer of 'it was a gift from Yuzu', the orange haired Substitute Shinigami elected to keep his smooth lie in play simply because he didn't want the real reason for the garment's presence to be known. It was simply too troublesome to explain why there was a noticeably raised white scar, reminiscent of a Hollow bite mark, sunk deeply into the skin of his neck. The mark that Tensa Zangetsu had left behind after claiming Ichigo as his Beta was one that was hard to clarify because it constantly ebbed and flowed with the Zanpactō spirit's reiatsu. Ichigo knew that intimately as he had been forced to try to explain its placement, in omission of what really happened, the day that his father had taken notice of it after the fact.

_That_ conversation hadn't gone well, Ichigo recalled vividly. He had never seen his father as angry as he had been that day, screaming profanities at his son's lost innocence and threatening to tear apart the Hollow who had made it. Not that his threats actually weighed anything since it hadn't been a Hollow that had created it and Tensa Zangetsu was a part of his soul; Ichigo still couldn't grasp why the Oyaji had been so pissed when he had always joked that his son should get married as quickly as possible. Luckily the older Kurosaki's anger had dissipated several days later, the topic completely dropped in lieu of stumped confusion when the orangette had revealed that it had been his Zanpactō who had done it. It had been frightening how little Ichigo had known of Alphas and Betas the first three days after the claim, even the powerful reiatsu that was constantly saturating the depths of his mark hadn't held any significance for him until Tensa had called him into his Inner World and explained the details of the intimate reishi chain that now bound their souls. _That_ had been a conversation and a half, Ichigo winced internally. Five days. It had taken five days for him to truly accept the fact that he was ultimately considered the submissive party and would only be able to find his pleasure in the smaller brunette's hands for the rest of his life and what remained of the afterlife beyond.

That wasn't all though, the orangette had quickly learned that the mark on his neck was not just there for show. It could be used as a startling catalyst to calm his ragging anger when he was furious, overwhelm his senses with pure and unadulterated pleasure, distract him from physical pain and settle his fiery and explosive irritation in mere seconds as needed. And dear god, the sheer sensations that Tensa Zangetsu could gift the very depths of his soul…it should be illegal for humans to taste a single morsel of it as it were. Unable to block out the lilting tenor that chuckled amusingly in the depths of his mind, the orange haired seventeen-year-old slipped his hand beneath a red scarf to lay his palm across the topic of his thoughts to settle the uncontained rush of sheer need that broke across his skin simply because he heard and physically felt his Alpha's contentment at the strange turn that his thoughts had taken. Their relationship had truly shifted into a deeper level than before after that day, Ichigo thought wistfully. Nothing was the same anymore and deep inside; despite the fears and misgivings that the newly instated Substitute Shinigami had had at the beginning of their binding, he wouldn't change the outcome for the world these days.

Tensa Zangetsu was his eternal beloved now, his _Claiming_ Alpha and a being that had vowed to constantly stay by his side to fill the void in Ichigo's heart and help him overcome the obstacles that sought to threaten those under his vast protection. It was as it always should have been and should _remain_ for the rest of eternity, Ichigo noted contentedly. Allowing for luscious petal pink lips to part with a slow and controlled exhale, the orange haired teen's very breath was tainted with a contented purr before he glanced to the side anxiously to make sure that his reluctant walking companion had not overheard the sound. Ichigo's Zanpactō spirit did not like it when others' heard the instinctive noises that sometimes spilled from Beta's throat unbidden of his knowledge. Ichigo had had to learn very quickly to recognize the sensation of their presence before they could become too noticeable. Sadly it didn't always work and Tensa Zangetsu was forced to remind his Master to calm himself. But the brush of praising reiatsu that now sunk into his fingertips from the side of his neck, spoke volumes of his beloved's bliss as the orangette drew his touch away from his mark fairly unwillingly. Now was perhaps not the best time to fulfil the irrevocable bind between them with uncontained need,_ not_ when he had an audience there to notice his uncharacteristic actions and strange reactions.

Allowing for absent fingertips to brush restlessly against the grey fabric of his school uniform, Ichigo tugged his open blazer more firmly around his shoulders as he straightened out the rumpled black t-shirt beneath and pulled a dark blue and white book bag over his left shoulder. A messy array of spiky orange locks were skittering playfully across his forehead, falling forward to throw haunting shadows over depthless chocolate brown eyes as the sneakers on his feet and the pitch black and red headphones resting around the back of his neck created a much more ruffled contrast to Ishida's pristine grey uniform. Ichigo couldn't find it in himself to care either way though, the Student Council President was clearly put out where he was in any case. Their encounter that day had been unavoidable because the Shinigami and Quincy's path had crossed when Ichigo's soccer practice had concluded late that afternoon and both their homes laid in roughly the same direction. The companionable silence that enveloped them now was nice for once, though. Pointing out the fact that nothing really needed to be said between them, they'd end up fighting about it in any case before irrevocably standing beside each other on the battlefield as understanding comrades.

'You should change it, Kurosaki. It looks suspicious. It's the beginning of summer now, not winter.' Scoffing in irritation at that, the orange haired teen allowed his brow to furrow into a much deeper scowl as he came to a halt at the edge of a familiar street. Did Ishida think he didn't know that, damn it?! He was well aware of that fact, he just chose to ignore it because what bound him and Tensa Zangetsu so deeply should stay _only_ between the two of them. Ichigo was already deeply uncomfortable that the Oyaji had forced the few and uninformative answers from his reluctant son that he had. When he was in his Shinigami form, complicated things like scarves and muffling Zangetsu's reiatsu didn't matter because the protective addition to his kosode, which traced warmly and securely around the back of his neck, concealed the mark from sight and somehow sealed the brunette's detectable reiatsu from other spiritually inclined people's senses. In his human form, however, Ichigo had learned to compensate for something that he did not have. It was a pain trying to explain his complex reasoning's so he kept it quiet as much as possible, even his beloved had told him that instinct sometimes dictated Zangetsu's actions and he was inclined to become highly resentful of tainted eyes that looked upon the claim that he had on Ichigo's soul without the Alpha's strict consent.

Dragged from the depths of his thoughts when a familiar river bank swam into the range of his vision, chocolate brown eyes gazed down at his left wrist where an array of stylish black bracelets were brushing against his watch and offered him the time that he was looking for. If there had been work that day, he would have been in a lot of trouble with Ikumi-san but luckily there wasn't...so he could at least brush that thought into the back of his mind. He _was_ going to be late for dinner though, if he idled in the streets. The Oyaji was probably climbing the walls with his next surprise attack already, but Ichigo still couldn't find it in himself to return home quite yet. He was feeling exhausted as of late and the quiet concern that was present in Isshin's gaze was not something that the orange haired teen was ready to face just yet. Despite the brush of contentment that was settled so warmly around the edges of his soul, the last six weeks had passed by with such a blur that Ichigo could hardly recall much of what had happened besides Tensa claiming his soul, the truth of his Beta inheritance and the comfort from the powers that he had regained. This spot though, was where he usually said goodbye to Ishida and just as he was about to speak; dark eyes collided with his for several seconds of contemplation before the black haired teen made a noise of irritation in the back of his throat.

'Really, Kurosaki. You need to get yourself in order. You've been spacing out far too much at late. Did you even hear what I just said?'

'Huh? You said something?' Catching the glint of sunlight off of the edge of rectangular glasses, Ichigo was treated to a familiar display of irritation from the refined black haired Quincy as he pushed his glasses up his nose and a sigh of sheer irritation spilled passed his lips. 'I said that Soul Society is sending the replacements for the district Shinigami tonight, midnight. It's our job to clean up the streets until then. Urahara-san said that our shift will start at ten. I'll see you then Kurosaki, and pull yourself together for heaven's sake. You need to pay more attention to your surroundings. You've become remarkably good at cocooning yourself in the depths of your own mind. I don't know what's so fascinating in the vast emptiness but fighting whilst in such a distracted state is just asking for trouble. It's a wonder that you're still alive today.' Allowing a chuckle to spill passed petal pink lips, Ichigo lidded chocolate brown orbs thoughtfully as he tracked his friend's steps in the opposite direction. Ishida had his own way of showing concern, Ichigo knew. So leaving his concerns unacknowledged was kind of rude. 'Thanks for your concern, Ishida, but I'll be fine.' He reassured teasingly, a brush of amusement swimming into chocolate brown eyes as he noted perfectly postured shoulders stiffening irritably at his claim before the Quincy just kept on his way with a controlled pace.

That was all the indication that Ichigo needed, Ishida's reaction telling him that he had correctly interpreted his friend's complex words for the hidden meaning behind his oftentimes far too rigidly controlled personality. Deciding not to take his own path home quite yet, the orange haired teen deviated to side so that he could walk close to the river bank. He was drifting into the depths of his soul again, his headphones now settled firmly across his ears with lulling music taking over his mind as he came to a halt in long grass that came up all the way to his knees. It was swaying playfully to the whimsies of the wind, brushing constantly against his clothes as chocolate brown eyes drifted shut peacefully and he unconsciously traced his beloved's presence into the depths of his soul. The sun was hanging low in the heavens by now, the world almost sinking into the darkening colours of dusk but Ichigo did not once waver in his task. He was slowly feeding the link between him and Tensa with as much reiatsu as possible, his very heart reverberating with his Alpha's rising presence until it flowed near painfully within his veins. Such complex reiatsu work had taken the orangette a whole four weeks to learn but when he felt a distinctive string attach itself to his heart, a soft breath was pulled from his lungs as it gave a sharp tug and a pronounced presence swam into heady focus against his senses.

'You're getting rather skilled at this, Aruji.' A soft tenor breathed within the depths of his mind, the lilting sound creating a strange double imprint as it drifted into his awareness through the melody playing softly in his ears simultaneously. There was a lazy smirk dancing across the orange haired teen's lips, his body instinctively leaning into the intimate touch when a notably shorter frame leaned against him back-to-back and a hooded head pressed against the middle of his spine comfortingly. In the corner of his lidded vision, Ichigo could see the ragged edges of a floor-length pitch black cloak dancing wildly in the wind. A small booted heel was coming to press against his calf, his beloved's fully materialized form leaning against him contentedly as the younger being's indiscernible reiatsu spilled into the atmosphere around them and became a soothing catalyst for Ichigo to find his balanced control again. Zangetsu was undeniably pressed against him, bringing to light the most startling twist to their newly forged Alpha and Beta bond. Tensa Zangetsu had the ability to travel into the Human World from Ichigo's soul by using his Beta's vast reiatsu as a link. Like this, he could come to his beloved's side to protect him should he need it or simply stay beside him whenever he wished.

'Tensa—.'

'Na uh, Aruji. What is my name when I am not in Bankai?' Allowing the correct name to spill from his lips this time, Ichigo briefly gazed over his shoulder to take in _Zangetsu_ as he was now. It had taken several hours of explanation to calm the orangette when he had found out that Tensa Zangetsu had taken Zangetsu Ossan's place in Shikai. But he had been put at ease by the youthful brunette's gentle reassurance that there had never been a difference between the two Zanpactō souls in the first place. It was only his appearance that changed when Ichigo shifted his Zanpactō from Shikai to Bankai. And because Tensa Zangetsu had been the one to claim Ichigo as his mate, it was only logical that his form no longer had the need to revert back to its older appearance when Shikai had been returned. There was a way to tell apart the two stages in release, Ichigo had learned. It just wasn't easy to spot if you weren't looking for it. However because this was his beloved, Ichigo had near instantly. The trademark yellow glasses that Zangetsu Ossan possessed remained behind on youthful features now, sharp blue eyes gazing at him intently from behind their depths where wavy brown locks, completely pitch black in Tensa Zangetsu's released form, fell between his eyes evocatively with a single lock of soft brown before the significantly shorter being walked forward so that he could stand in front of his Beta.

A flowing floor length cloak was spreading ragged shadows upon the grass beneath small feet, a familiar hood concealing astounding features in shadow as stoic lips remained untouched by emotion despite the soothing warmth that was flooding fathomless pale blue eyes. Visible white shirt cuffs were peeking out from beneath the dark fabric, the ragged edges colouring a blood red on the inside as a thin black chain wound around Zangetsu's waist to accentuate slim hips. Wavy brown locks, Ichigo also knew, had lengthened considerably to reach for the centre of Tensa's back instead of just his shoulders. And were the younger looking teen to will it, his small frame could wield the startling weight of Ichigo's bulky Shikai blade with just as much elegance and deadly grace as he did with a long pitch black daitō. It was utterly breathtaking, Zangetsu's mere presence was skittering so powerfully across tanned skin now that Ichigo felt his breath stalling in his throat and a noticeable tint coloured pale cheeks with rising embarrassment. Hazed chocolate brown eyes were lidding erotically in a sensual gaze, his taller frame leaning down instinctively when ungloved fingertips reached upwards to pass across his cheek affectionately and a startling satisfied smirk curled across childlike lips.

'Do you like what you see, Ichigo?' That tenor purred playfully and the flush across Ichigo's nose darkened ever so slightly as his breath hitched painfully in his chest. Guiding hands were bringing him closer, pressing their foreheads together tenderly so that only pale blue eyes filled his vision and the world instantly faded away from around him along with the last of his regained sanity. Too much, it was almost too much to bear but the instant that soft lips whispered against his own; the orange haired teen lost himself to the slick slide of plush surfaces and the sheer warmth that instantly shot through his veins with an uncontained and desperate need to still the fire flaring to life deeply in the pit of his stomach. So good! It felt_ so_ good, enough to cause needy hands to curl around slim shoulders so that he could grip the back of an infinitely soft cloak and lean more fully into the rapturous kiss. A domineering tongue was sliding slickly into the depths of his mouth, stealing his very breath from his lungs as soft moan muffled against Zangetsu's lips and knowing fingertips expertly pushed his head phones to rest against his neck and a tugging grip wound restrictively and demandingly though messy orange locks.

In those moments, nothing could reach him. Not even stylish yellow sunglasses digging into the bridge of nose near painfully nor the fact that they were out in the open with the rushing sound of the river mere feet from them and the orangette's home only three blocks away. Zangetsu had the frightening ability to separate Ichigo's mind from reality completely by bathing his form in utter rapture, leaving the seventeen-year-old reeling internally when they were eventually forced to part for air and hooded chocolate brown eyes gazed longingly at the thick string of saliva that still connected their tongues intimately. He was instinctively leaning into the palm that cupped his cheek, a loud and deeply contented purr spilling from luscious petal pink lips as a warm tongue swiped across the corner of his mouth to snap their intimate connection before an affectionate kiss was pressed against the centre of his forehead for several seconds to ground his floating awareness.

'Z-Zangetsu.' Ichigo called out pleadingly, lust saturating chocolate brown depths so deeply that they were near black with desperate need.

'What is it, Aruji? Were you rendered incapable of speech besides uttering my name? It's alright, I understand beloved. I like what I see too.'

**...**

A low moan of purring enjoyment was spilling contentedly passed luscious petal pink lips, the back of an orange head colliding dazedly against a harsh unyielding surface as the darkening shadows of the late afternoon descended upon Karakura Town and a soft breeze brushed teasingly across a sweat slicked forehead. Ichigo was instinctively arching back against soft, pale, lips that whispered sensually against the side of his neck and attentive fingertips that slipped slyly below the soft fabric of a pitch black t-shirt. A blood red scarf, blue and white book bag and iPod-plus-headphones were long forgotten beside two sensually entwined forms on the steadier parts of the Karasu River banks. The orange haired Substitute Shinigami was sitting comfortably with his back pressed against the vast pillar of a familiar bridge now, accommodating himself to his beloved's smaller height so that Tensa could offer him the pleasures that his heart yearned for and his body had come to crave incessantly every single passing day. To him, it no longer mattered where they were and who could find them. The world had already ground to a halt around them and Zangetsu was the _only_ presence in the world that mattered to him…that and somehow finding a way to quench the insatiable fire of desperate need that coiled his stomach into several knots of delectable anticipation in mere seconds.

'Nnngh…m-more…Z-Zangetsu…please…I want—.' Ichigo pleaded shamelessly, shivering in startling bliss when a slick tongue passed directly against the mark seared into his neck and warm, humid, breaths tickled across highly sensitized skin with every soft exhale that spilled from his Claiming Alpha's nose. He couldn't keep his moans back much longer, his heart was racing erratically against his chest and despite his beloved having told him to keep quiet because they could be discovered by the few people that walked this way at dusk; the orangette still couldn't find an ounce of true self-control to do so. He could literally feel his Zanpactō's amusement at the situation, the small smirk that curled against the side of his neck was telling enough and even forced Ichigo to tug his bottom lip between his teeth as he valiantly fought to ease the increasing erratic breaths that were rasping painfully in his throat. His very soul was yielding itself to the flow of his pleasure, a dark flush colouring erotically across pale cheeks as soft strands of messy orange locks stuck to the beads of sweat gathered upon his forehead and Ichigo's mind was completely taken over by a deep haze and desperate lust. The _pure_ sensations could simply no longer be reigned back within him, no matter _how_ much he struggled against the tumultuous flood of pleasure saturating his veins.

A colourful curse was echoing loudly into the air, his beloved's name shouted near deafeningly when tugging teeth dug deeply into the side of his neck and cool fingertips slipped below his t-shirt to roll a sensitive nipple between a forefinger and thumb. Chocolate brown orbs instantly fluttered shut half-mast in lilting submission, his head tilting to the side to offer the smaller brunette more access to his sensitive skin as petal pink lips parted for the huffing breaths that spilled erotically into the air around them and echoed the slow build of bliss that was blurring the edges of his vision. Trembling fingertips were twined firmly in an infinitely soft black cloak, waist-length wavy brown locks falling forward to tickle his cheeks as a black hood fell back and astounding pale blue eyes were stoically observing Ichigo's pleasure with loving affection and heated pride behind stylish yellow glasses. Ichigo hardly noticed, his yearning grip tugging a slim frame closer so that Tensa could kneel between his sensually parted legs more comfortably and a free hand was open to trace small fingertips against the inside of still clothed and trembling thigh. Not even flinching once when his head was thrown back against a harsh concrete surface in response, the seventeen-year-old felt his awareness shattering when his beloved chose to tease his rapidly responding arousal through the thin fabric of his school uniform.

'_Zan_getsu! _Please_ don't tease!'

'Shizukesa, Aruji. You're getting too loud. I'm sorry that I cannot offer more than a quick release but this'll have to do for now. Just relax and bear with me for a few minutes.' A soothing tenor purred disappointedly against the shell of a dainty ear, leaving Ichigo to mourn the loss of his beloved's teeth digging into the side of his neck as the tip of a pink tongue dragged against the corner of petal pink lips to settle the orangette's restless need and an intimate slide of lips captured them in a world of their own creation. Ichigo yielded himself naturally to Zangetsu's domineering and skilful tongue, falling backwards against the support of a concrete pillar as slim fingertips twined through messy orange locks and gave a sharp yank when the Claimed Beta unconsciously sought more pleasure than his Alpha was willing to give. 'We don't have much time. I do not wish to take the risk of you being overheard in your pleasure.' Nodding a vague understanding at those sternly whispered words, Ichigo relaxed himself into a steady palm that curled around his shoulder supportively and hissed in strain when it withdrew from him seconds later to fumble with the zipper and button of grey school pants instead. There was barely a second to breathe after that, the early evening air whispering sensually against bared flesh as a knowing palm curled firmly around the base of a hardened arousal and completely bathed the orangette's trembling form in the pleasure that Ichigo had come to crave more and more every passing day.

'F-Fuck! _Z-Zan_getsu—!' Ichigo called out, his deeply pleasured shout cut off quickly as two fingers slid sensually between parted lips and dragged blunt fingernails against his tongue in quiet warning. Chocolate brown eyes instantly clenched shut in strain at the touch, the orange haired teen no longer able to control himself as a firm grip slid sensually from the base of his erection to the sensitive head where slim fingertips smeared beads of pre-come from the leaking slit and eased a heated path of pure rapture upon hardened flesh. Oh god, _oh god_! Ichigo chanted pitifully in the depths of his own mind, his entire form shuddering in bliss as pure ecstasy flooded through his soul without restraint and he was sure that he was losing his head completely. His mind was rapidly spinning out of control, Tensa Zangetsu setting a steady pace of up and down, giving pleasure that was only increasing in intensity when soft lips trailed a heated path from the centre of his forehead to the side of his neck and a constant stream of reiatsu began to ebb and flow between them with well-known instinct. It was an act that was completely shattered the world, syncing the beat of their hearts as one as Ichigo's cries of pure rapture were muffled against an impromptu gag and his Alpha's lilting voice continued to whisper sweet encouragements against the side of a bared neck with every expert tug of his hand.

Ichigo wasn't reigning in his pleasure anymore, time seemed to flit away from his awareness as nothing but reaching the ultimate peak of satisfaction within him mattered. He was sucking restlessly on elegant fingertips, his hips rocking forward in desperation as lust glazed brown orbs slid open in a lidded gaze and collided pleadingly with Tensa's in the need for release. Pale blue eyes were locked tenderly with his for several seconds of reprieve, searing pure acceptance into the depths of his mind before the orange haired teen bowed back in a deep, sensual, arch the instant that harsh fingernails dug deeply into the slit of his erection and an overwhelming flood of reiatsu suddenly exploded through the raised scar on the side of his neck. Ichigo hadn't even seen Tensa move to dig his teeth into his claim mark, merely felt his rapid and unexpectedly hasty release _roar_ through his blood with such scorching hot intensity that it sent his mind spinning in dizzying circles and prompted him to accept the gifted bliss that Zangetsu was offering him that night without holding back. A dark flush of sheer mortification was settled near permanently across pale cheeks by now, messy orange locks falling forward to conceal pleasure hazed brown orbs in shadow as an amused chuckle caressed his hearing and Zangetsu brushed soft lips against his Master's sweaty forehead to ground him against the intense shock of his overwhelming rapture.

'_Breathe_, Ichigo, please. I can literally feel your soul quivering beneath my touch. Did it feel good?' Unable to form a single coherent thought to answer that slyly purred question verbally, the orange haired teen could only nod numbly as he instinctively captured Tensa's wrist with curling fingers and brought a soiled hand to his lips decisively. A soft groan of sated need was echoing into the air around them, several long moments already having passed where Ichigo struggled very hard to recapture his faded and rasping breaths. But that didn't matter, he thought absently. He was instinctively lapping at the sticky white fluid of his release, a series of contented purrs spilling from his lips as his briefly awakened Beta instincts coloured chocolate brown eyes in a flash of gold and silver for several seconds before they returned to their normal hue. He was dutifully gathering the bitter taste of his essence upon his tongue, leaning into the tender hand that carded through messy orange locks as Tensa Zangetsu slowly but surely began to tether Ichigo's mind to faded reality through the grounding caress. He was providing a soul deep connection to bind them together now, guiding his beloved's soul into righting itself as the difficult struggle was made much more fluid by the brunette's skilful ability to manipulate the bond that already existed so potently between them.

Eagerly welcoming a languid kiss upon petal pink lips once he had cleared away the evidence of his own climax, Ichigo tilted his head to side as he keened needily at a gentle tongue that was blissfully sharing in the taste of him and prompted him to lose himself in the slow weaving connection that Tensa was establishing to the flow of the world. Sound was slowly swimming back into awareness around them, the steady flow of a strong river providing a soothing melody to their contented peace as an early evening breeze skittered playfully across tanned skin and dried the droplets of sweat that had stuck several strands of vibrant orange to a perpetually furrowed forehead. In those moments, nothing but their natural intimacy mattered. Not even when the darkness of dusk crawled with the shadows of an unannounced presence and a rising, new, threat. Zangetsu was the first to break their intimate entanglement, swiping the tip of his tongue across his lips to gather his Beta's taste back into himself as pale blue eyes fluttered open at the brush of an unexpected reiatsu that flowed threateningly into the vast range of his strained senses. Making sure that Ichigo was at least a little more aware of his surroundings before he let go and his clothes had been righted, the youthful brunette pressed a soothing kiss to the top of messy orange locks as he cupped a flushed cheek in the palm of his small hand.

'Don't move, Aruji.' Zangetsu breathed commandingly, his entire demeanour shifting as he gracefully rose to his feet and gazed upwards at the bridge that was drawn above them. The last of the sun's rays were colouring the sky bright red, his floor-length cloak flowing menacingly around him as his reiatsu rose protectively within him and he became aware of Ichigo's confusion at his actions behind him. Holding up his hand for silence before the orangette could ask his raging questions, the small brunette stiffened his shoulders when the interloper to their privacy responded to his rise of power by moulding himself out of the shadows. The first thing that Tensa noticed was the white uniform, bringing to light a touch of dread in his stomach as he quietly observed the strange Hollow mask that was settled across the being's left eye. This was undoubtedly an Arrancar, he noted to himself absently. And yet, his soul was mixed with a flood of Quincy power too. That could only mean one thing. The event that the fragment of Juhabach's soul knew was to come, what he had been preparing for over the last six weeks since Ichigo had regained his powers, was upon them much quicker than he had anticipated. He wasn't afraid though, this hastily composed being was weak in comparison to the power that his Original Soul could gift those who fell under the range of his influence.

'Who are you?' Ichigo's question was predictable, Tensa Zangetsu deeply aware of his beloved disobeying his words by coming to stand directly behind him as the Substitute Shinigami's own potent reiatsu switched from its previous lazy contentment to darkly serious in mere seconds. Glancing over his shoulder in silent reprimand, Zangetsu glared at Ichigo before holding out his arm to stop the orangette when he attempted to advance in front of his Alpha. 'I said_ not_ to move, Aruji. I'll deal with this. Just stand by quietly and watch.' Pleased for once that Ichigo decided to obey his words this time without him having to ascertain his dominance again, the wavy brown haired teen made sure that his intense gaze never strayed far from both his enemy and his beloved's form who, despite his sensually dishevelled appearance and dazed awareness, was busy gathering his scattered belongings nonchalantly. He wasn't even listening to the lengthy introduction from the being standing in their presence, there was no need because he already knew on whose command he was there. The Arrancar seemed thrown by Tensa's presence though, clearly not sure what to make of him but the instant that he claimed that he was there to 'annihilate Kurosaki Ichigo'; Zangetsu reached his hand out in front of him and prepared to call upon his own soul to materialize a familiar and heavy blade.

'Your lies are tiresome, Arrancar. I'll kindly ask you to take your lecherous eyes off my Aruji before I rip them out. I'll also dismiss your threatening words because there is no physical way you can defeat my Master as you are. I shall give you a half a minute to explain your real purpose here however, before deciding your fate.' Sharpening pale blue eyes in irritation when he was treated to an angered response by his enemy claiming not to be an Arrancar instead; the brunette drove the curved tip of a menacing pitch black blade into the grass as his rising anger became detectable through the steady climb of deadly reiatsu. 'Get out of the way, little kid. My business is with Kurosaki Ichigo and with him alone. You shouldn't play with weapons like that, I don't fight little twelve-year-old's.' This was becoming close to the last straw for Tensa's patience, even when he usually had the capacity to display an inordinate amount of self-control as was required. And when he felt Ichigo beginning to get restless behind him, he did not even blink once as he disappeared in the flicker of a technique he had not yet taught his Master to use. The astounding flash of a light blue Getsuga Tenshō from the tip of heavy blade lit up the early evening air like a burning sun, an explosion of deadly reiatsu echoing into the night as Zangetsu didn't even give his opponent a single chance to retaliate.

A spray of dark blood was colouring the air, the Hollow presence that Tensa had absorbed into the depths of his soul stirring in anticipation at the display of carnage as he kept the wound he had dealt deep enough to maim but skilful enough to survive. His opponent had some strength to him, the waist-length brunette would give him that at least. To pull out the form of such a large and unrefined spiked bow was something that he should not underestimate. His temper though, it was clearly hindering the Arrancar's ability to think straight. So pitiful, such a pitiful soul, Zangetsu thought absently. Juhabach had probably sent him here to scout Ichigo's abilities, but something else was niggling irritably in the back of Zangetsu's mind. This being seemed to be on a mission to accomplish something, but since he had not recognized the blade that the 'twelve-year-old' now wielded, or the fact that his and Ichigo's reiatsu was almost identical as it was now…he hadn't been informed of much either. Quickly drawn back into the fray by an exploding arrow that headed straight in the direction of the very being that he was trying to protect, Tensa hastily diverted its path with the palm of his bare hand as he came to a halt protectively in front of his beloved.

Dust and wind was swirling restlessly beneath his feet, the shadows growing rapidly around him as a slow brewing anger ignited deeply through his soul the instant that he heard a soft hiss of surprised pain echo out behind him. Pale blue eyes instantly glanced over his shoulders to assess the damage, a flood of relief flowing through his soul when he couldn't see blood on Ichigo's from. Zangetsu wasn't willing to forgive this however, an explosion of potent reiatsu swirling restlessly around him as the shift in his power doubled and the blade in his hand reverted to a familiar pitch black daitō. With that alone, the filthy soul standing before him, barely alive through the attacks of Ichigo's Shikai blade, had sealed his fate. The youthful form was completely indiscernible in the next few moments as he moved, an elegant blade swinging down in a deadly arc from shoulder to hip as he came to a halt midair to compensate for his shorter height. He was standing absently over the crumbled form now, a beautiful black daitō drawn close to his side as a stoic expression took in the one who had dared to pull of hiss of pain from his beloved's lips. His newly revealed form was barely different from how he had appeared previously, waist-length pitch black locks were being tugged by the summer night breeze and pale blue eyes sharpened without the presence of stylish yellow glasses.

A black gloved palm was tightening around the elegant hilt of his blade, a swift and precise arc nonchalantly flicking away rivulets of blood clinging to the tip as the intensity and rapidness of their fight came to an abrupt and triumphant halt. Intricate black boots were stepping away from the influence of a shadow that swirled to life beneath his opponent. A shadow not controlled by him as the youthful being allowed a soft sigh to part pale lips and he made sure that pain glazed eyes were directly trained on him. He had a message after all, for the being that his soul was tied to.

'W-what _are_ you?'

'Pitiful, Bankai is a waste on enemies like you. I have no obligation to reveal my identity to the likes of you either. I'll advise you, however, to look very carefully at the man that you call Kaiser. Perhaps you'll see or remember something interesting. I also remember telling you that there was no physical way you can defeat my Master. For attempting to harm him, only your life will do as payment but I'm letting you live for only one reason,' Zangetsu said stoically, passive features not blinking once when a path of darkness began to swallow the prone, blood covered, form in order to carry him away to the place where _that_ man was.

'Tell your Kaiser (1*) that Kurosaki Ichigo is not to be harmed, he falls directly under _my_ protection. The next Quincy, Gemischt or Echt, which crosses my path shall not receive a single ounce of mercy.'

* * *

><p>Deep within the depths of the Silbern Fortress, a restless spread of dark shadows was engulfing much of an imposing Throne Room in a much darker and more frightening intensity than before. The approaching presence of the coming night was heavy and thick, filling the very air with an unnamed and frightening pressure as the darkness seemed to flow and bend to the will of one indiscernible and frightening presence. The Emperor of the Wandenreich was occupying his rightful throne that night, the imposing structure barely discernable from the darkness surrounding it as a depthless midnight blue gaze trained directly upon the heavily injured Arrancar kneeling in subservience before him. To the outsider looking in, the Quincy King cut quite the impressive figure as waist-length black locks tumbled restlessly over his shoulder when he leaned forward expectantly and large hands folded together regally. His elbows were resting nonchalantly upon white armrests, the thick fabric of a blood red cloak spilling evocatively around his tall frame as it partially concealed an intricate white uniform from sight. Buckled white boots were scuffing irritably upon white stone however, a barely detectable smirk curling across pale lips as he took in the surprising damage that his son born in the darkness had made upon the Arrancar he had sent to confront him.<p>

It was as he expected, Kurosaki Ichigo truly deserved to stand at the top of the Special War Potential list. But the ragged gasps for breath and the growing pool of blood now staining his immaculate white floors was irritating. Someone would have to clean up the mess later, Juhabach didn't like to see or smell the filthy taint of Arrancar blood. Allowing for a disappointed sigh to colour the air around him, depthless midnight blue eyes briefly flickered to the taint that another unsuspecting soul had made on his floor. Haschwalth was going to get irritated that he was depleting the supply of Arrancar that they had salvaged from Hueco Mundo. But the Kaiser did not care. They had been brought under his influence for menial task and easy disposal in the first place, Hueco Mundo had already crumbled beneath his feet and it hadn't even taken a few minutes. It was just what he expected from disorganized souls ruled by nothing more than their own instincts. Many would see this as cruel and heartless of him, an unnecessary display of his power, but for the King…it was affective way to reach his goals. He had more than a thousand years to plan this, to finally give back a little of the bitterness that Soul Society had given him when his beloved children were murdered without restraint whilst he had been incapacitated and sealed.

_They_ had made him the transcendent being that he was now however, so he should give thanks for their consideration before they too crumbled to dust.

'Well then, Ivan Azugiaro. Let's hear your report for the sake of peace.' A deep baritone breathed commandingly, Juhabach leaning back against his imposing throne as his voice resounded powerfully throughout the depths of the Throne Room. The sheer fear that was tainting the Arrancar's reiatsu was understandable, the dark haired King had just mercilessly eliminated another useful but easily disposable soul for the sake of amusement and convenience without even blinking. Closing dark eyes thoughtfully when an unexpected story reached his ears several seconds later, Juhabach elected to stay quiet until the being had spoken and he had had a chance to quietly analyzed something that he had not thought of or could quite understand just yet. When Juhabach had been forced to shield the Arrancar from death by a Shinigami blade with his own shadow, he had thought that the startling array of near fatal wounds and deadly reiatsu burns had been made by Kurosaki Ichigo himself. But he was being told otherwise, a barely believable tale of a dark haired twelve-year-old child protecting the Substitute Shinigami instead that was somehow a Shinigami too because he wielded a blade and carried an exceedingly power reiatsu that was somehow close in sensation to the original opponent that the Arrancar had been sent to face in the first place.

Now this was fascinating. Tilting his head to the side curiously, a deadly smirk danced across pale lips as Juhabach tried to place the truth of the story he was being told. Considering that the one kneeling before him was probably too frightened to lie to him, he was being presented with an interesting puzzle that had instantly captured his interest and was placing a new perspective on the plans that he had had to slow down his son born into the darkness. They were going to have to gather more information on this, even though the King wasn't really going to still his plans to invade Soul Society when the time was right. But he was sure that there was something that the Arrancar was omitting, something that he seemed far too frightened to mention. Gathering a flood of reishi at the tip of his fingers, Juhabach narrowed his intense gaze in irritation as he interrupted the voice that was recalling the event for him with as much detail as possible. 'You're holding something back, Ivan. I expect a full report, not half-baked recalls. If what you say is correct then it means I have to factor in another Special War Potential, one that I know nothing about and seemed to have materialized into thin air overnight. If you are to be the cause of my misjudgement on this matter, your life will be considerably shortened because the patience I have to keep you alive in my presence, is practically non-existent.'

'The child had a message, h-he said: "Tell your Kaiser that Kurosaki Ichigo is not to be harmed, he falls directly under _my_ protection. The next Quincy, Gemischt or Echt, which crosses my path shall not receive a single ounce of mercy. ".' Those words were enough to make Juhabach pause, his mind running through the strange number of facts that an unaware presence had. No one was supposed to know of his existence except for his children and those who bowed at his feet. Soul Society would only be made aware of their presence in the next day or so because they would be officially declaring war, but this...this was a little unsettling and unexpected. A mere intriguing story had a chance to become quite dangerous, something that made the Quincy King grateful that he had sent out his first scout a day early. Even though the scout had not completed his task as asked _or_ sealed Kurosaki Ichigo's Bankai as ordered. But the latter command, Juhabach had known would not work…the Arrancar had merely been sent to peak the orange haired teen's interest for now and turn his attention to Hueco Mundo. Allowing a quiet sigh to spill passed pale lips, the dark haired being brought up absent fingertips to brush away messy black bangs that tumbled forward into his eyes.

'This child, does he have a name?'

'No, Your Majesty. He did not name himself, even when asked. He was referring to Kurosaki Ichigo as his 'Aruji' and 'Master' quite frequently, however, and for a split second when his blade shifted forms, his reiatsu doubled in strength and his appearance changed slightly.' This was probably all the useful information he was going to get and it was more than enough for now, Juhabach thought absently. Raising his hand in front of him absently, a deadly smirk curled across his lips as a haunting lash of power echoed into the depths of the Silbern Fortress. 'Thank you, Ivan. I have no more use for your presence, you shall become a foundation stone of peace…take pride in that.' And that was it, another filthy Hollow cut down where he kneeled without mercy as the dark haired being pushed himself to his feet and turned his attention to the quiet presence that entered the closed doors with quiet footsteps. The Quincy King was gazing intently at the darkness the constantly enveloped the recesses of his invisible and unseen empire. The sun had already set upon a dark night and it was time for him to retire, perhaps that night he could track the strange presence that seemed to be tied to Kurosaki Ichigo.

The being that had just become their new Special War Potential and had evoked a strange and nostalgic recognition within the Kaiser when his subservient Hollow had recalled the child's appearance.

'Should I clear the room for your rest, Your Majesty?'

'Yes Haschwalth, also keep a trusted tail on Kurosaki Ichigo for now. Untill I can figure out the new threat that the unpredictable Substitute Shinigami presents us, we'll have to tread with a little more caution.'

* * *

><p>1* - Kaiser – German for Emperor<p>

Right, that's it. Thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate it. If I could ask for a small review, I'd be eternally grateful. Other than that, I can't think of anything more to say. This chapter is a little short but I didn't want to overwhelm it with too much information. It is a multi-chapter fic after all so there's space to build the plot slowly.

Any questions, don't be afraid to ask but most of the confusion from this chapter will be explained in the next chapter when I get back to it. For now, I'm off. I'll see you guys again soon with my next update, but I don't know which one it is.

Yours Always

Chocolate Carnival


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